Tales of Remnant
by StoryProducer214
Summary: Ruby Rose, an aspiring young huntress with big dreams. But what would happen if it was all different and she is intelligent, stoic, cold, and somewhat aloof. This is an AU fanfic and there will be my own added elements to the RWBY lore. Very OOC!Ruby because it's an AU. Rated T for now. There will also be huge changes to canon and an original storyline ;)
1. C1: Ruby Rose

_**Hello everyone, this will be my very first RWBY fanfic but with a different twist. This won't be your typical AU fanfic because while canon characters will appear, dozens of OCs will also be another element, as well as my own twist in Aura and Semblances including the Grimm. Most of all, there will be some very huge changes to the canon characters we all know and love, especially Ruby.**_

 _ **I hope for some great constructive criticism once I publish the first chapter :)**_

It was a relatively normal day in the world of Remnant. The four kingdoms governing their people, the citizens of said kingdoms enjoying their days, and huntsmen and huntresses defending them from the creatures of Grimm.

One girl in particular was about to have one that would change her life for the better.

* * *

It was morning in Patch and the island itself was tranquil like it usually is.

Her silver eyes were opening as she wakes up in the morning to start her day.

Ruby Rose was a fifteen year old girl, as she has black neck-length choppy hair with dark red tips, silver eyes and a pale white complexion. She has a petite build with soft feminine features, but has perky C-cup breasts and is completely fit, especially her arms and legs.

 _"It's just like any other day as usual."_ Ruby thought to herself simply, as she rose from her bed, but as she did pecking sounds were heard at her windows.

Curious, she turns to the source of the sounds and opens both windows, only to discover a crow as it stared at her intently.

The girl stares at it for moment before it flies away.

The crimsonette lets out a measured sigh as she began her day, she leaves her room and walks into the bathroom as she takes off her pajamas and steps into the shower.

Ruby stared at the floor as all the water coming from the shower went down the drain, before staring at her own hand.

 _"What am I even thinking about?"_ She closes her hand as it curled into a fist _"It's not like today's going to be any different."_

She turns off the shower and wraps a towel around her body before heading back to her room.

In her room, Ruby wears the Signal Academy school uniform which consisted of a light brown blazer over a white dress shirt with a red ribbon, the same colored skirt with black stockings that reached her knees and basic brown school shoes. She also opted to wear a red overcoat due to the prediction of a cold windy day.

Ruby goes downstairs and into the kitchen where she finds a note on the refrigerator.

"Ruby, I left for Signal early this morning along with Yang due to an urgent call from one of her teachers, be sure to lock the house as soon as you leave and don't forget the eat the breakfast I left for you at the table. Love, Dad" She reads the note before taking notice at the plate of food at the table.

 _"I might as well do the chores myself later after school"_ She mused as she took a seat and began to eat her breakfast

After finishing her meal, she washes the plate at the kitchen sink, made some toast for an extra meal, and leaves the house after locking it's doors.

She looks up at the sky as she makes her way to the school.

* * *

 **Ruby**

Hello everyone, my name is Ruby Rose and I'm not exactly what you call a 'normal' girl.

Granted that the world I'm living in had a lot of crazy things to offer, but that's not what I'm focusing on at the moment.

I walk into class and I could feel everyone staring at me for a while before they went back to talking, like I was never there in the first place.

"Hello Ms. Rose, I hope your late presence doesn't affect your work" A teacher asked me

"No sir, I was just preparing by myself due to my father and sister's early absence" Was my simple answer

"I see, now head to your seat, classes are about to begin any minute now" He told me as I responded by heading to my seat which is at the back right corner of the classroom.

As soon as the teacher began his topic, I simply stared out the window and thought _"Just another day at Signal Academy"_

I know what you're thinking, 'Doesn't Signal have dorms for it's students?'.

The answer to that, I don't really bother to live in the dormitories with the other students because I'm a bit reclusive.

Well, maybe not a little bit, but I don't really socialize with the other students.

Why?

You'll find out later as I go on about my life.

Multiple classes had passed by, but I felt like time only passed by thirty minutes straight.

"Alright class, hand in your essays" A female voice said, snapping me back into reality.

I notice all the other students search their bags for their homework with some to no avail.

Sighing, I pull out my book bag where I pull out sheets of paper as I stood up and headed towards the teacher's desk.

"Here are my essays, ma'am" I bowed politely as I handed them over..

"Well done, Ms. Rose" She praised as she handed me some papers "With that, here are your test results from yesterday's long quiz"

I read that my grade was an 'A+'.

"As expected from a top student such as yourself" She laced her hands together "After all, you are always at the top of your peers with your overall grades"

Her comment made me feel some sympathy towards the other students, since I know some of them must've worked hard to get their grades up, while I get the highest amount of grades in every subject, without any difficulty.

I can feel some of their envy pointed directly at me.

Shaking my head, I went back to my seat and remained there until classes were dismissed.

I head into the cafeteria where I sit in a table that's far away from all the other students.

I ignore what's happening around me as I pulled out a bag that contained my own lunch. Unlike the others, I pack and prepare my own lunch and snacks.

Besides, it's not like I didn't want to interact with them, it's because ...

I overhear some of their thoughts on me as I sat all by myself.

"Looks like Rose is all by herself again"

"Probably doesn't think she's one of us since she's on top"

"I think she has some issues there"

"You think?"

... it was because they look at me like I have some sort of mental problem.

I clenched my hands into fists as some of their words were highly condescending and were purposefully doing that so they could get on my nerves.

This was why I stayed on my own for most of the time.

Ever since I was a child, people praised my ability to learn things extremely quick, which is one of reasons why I was at the top of my class, and I gained that ability through reading lots of books, starting at the age of five.

At the age were-

I shake my head before morbid thoughts would enter them.

It was all in the past, I plan on studying hard so I could get into Beacon which is what my sister is doing since she is two years older.

So I can keep the promise I made to _him_.

A promise I made for both of _us_.

Just before my mind would drift even further, a voice called out to me and said "Hey Ruby, you there?"

I was snapped out of my thoughts as I saw the person that called out to me.

He had sandy blonde hair, green eyes, fair skin and was wearing the Signal Academy's male school uniform.

His name is Luke Knight.

Believe it or not, besides the teachers and the staff. He's pretty much the only friend I have in the entire academy.

The problem with him though, is that he flirts too much with the majority of the female students.

When I started my early years at Signal, we met by coincidence which led to him flirting with me as well and then asking me out.

But unlike the other girls that shot him down, I accepted his offer just to cut the poor guy some slack.

Throughout this hang out, he has done lots of things to try and give me a good time. Such as doing lots of things to convince my dad into letting him go out with me, to which I come to his rescue by reassuring him that I would be fine and that he wouldn't do anything to me.

Since it came from his own daughter, he reluctantly accepted but not without letting him leave without a warning, to which he responded by nervously nodding his head.

He had a method of getting me to change my opinion of him by telling me all about himself and what he did in his personal life, and to my surprise, it worked.

It turns out that underneath his flirty nature, he was a hardworking boy doing his best to help out his family since they were struggling financially and he thought training to be huntsman would help him to give his family all the lien they needed.

Obviously, his weapons and equipment were akin to a knight's sword and armor.

When he asked me on what my personal life was, I only left him answers that were vague at best, as well as his questions regarding why I never smiled throughout our hang out.

Although, the more I got to know him, the more I realize that how humble and kindhearted he truly is.

Eventually, as he was about to walk me back to my home, I decided to tell him all about my personal life since I believed that he was trustworthy enough to know what he needed to know about me.

I told him that certain incidents in my childhood changed how I viewed Remnant by itself and how said incidents affected me, what I had to go through as a child, and how it never stopped me from fulfilling my promise to _him_.

He was shocked on what I had revealed to him and apologized repeatedly for asking those kinds of questions earlier.

I assured him that he simply didn't know and that he had nothing to apologize for.

At that point, we agreed to be friends but he would still flirt with me, just not to the degree of the other girls.

After thinking back on past events, I responded with a simple "Yes?"

"Look, remember how your sister is about to sign up for Beacon Academy" Luke informed me, and I couldn't help but notice his grim expression as he said it.

"Yes, what about her?" I had to know the reason behind his current expression.

"Look" He passed me his scroll as I picked it up, my eyes went wide with shock as soon as I read it's contents.

 _"S-She's at the hospital!?"_ I mentally questioned _"B-But how?"_

"Yang?" Was the only thing that came out of my mouth "I-It can't be, is she-"

"She's fine, but she's not becoming a huntress anytime soon" I can tell he feels the same, knowing the condition of his family.

Suddenly, I stood up and started to pack my empty lunch box and snack bag as I prepared to leave the cafeteria, but Luke stops me before I could leave.

"What!?" I snapped at him

"Your dad is there so don't anything to worry about, plus you have your uncle in this school as a teacher, right?" He tried to reassure me "Besides, leaving now would get you into trouble if you're on your own"

I gritted my teeth but complied.

I spent the rest of my day, worrying over Yang's safety and at the same time increasing my grades at each subject.

After school ended, I quickly made my way to the house where I would prepare myself and head to Vale since that was where the accident took place.

* * *

Ruby was in an airship, making it's way to Vale.

She was wearing a black sweater over a white dress shirt, black and white plaid skirt with thigh high black stockings and regular brown shoes. She was carrying some bags that contained things Yang needed since her father contacted her scroll while she was purchasing tickets for an airship.

 _"Yang, please be okay"_ The girl thought worriedly

The ride didn't take long, much to her relief. She quickly makes her way to the hospital where her father was waiting.

"Dad!" Ruby called out, running towards him

"Ruby!" Taiyang called out in response, before catching her and pulling her into a hug

"Is she going to be okay?" She asked quietly

"She's fine" Her father was quick to reassure her "Thanks to her aura, the injuries aren't anything serious but the doctors are still running a few tests with her"

The crimsonette merely nodded in response

"Ruby, I need you to do something for me, okay?" The blond asked

"What is it?" Ruby waited for what he said next

"I need you to go into town and pick up a few things for Yang" Taiyang requested "Okay?"

"Okay" She took the paper in her hands and quickly left

* * *

One of the items on her list was medicinal dust, so she went to dust shop named Dust 4 Dawn.

Unfortunately, this was where a robbery would take place.

"Alright boys, grab the dust" An orange haired man with a bowler hat commanded his henchmen.

This happened while Ruby was checking for the said item on her list.

 _"A robbery"_ She narrowed her eyes, observing the men stealing the dust _"I can't let them steal the dust"_

She was hiding behind one of the shelves where henchmen weren't looking.

 _"I might as well as use my aura to disarm them"_ Her body is suddenly covered with a white glow before walking casually out of the shelf _"Here goes nothing"_

Ruby walks up to one of them from behind before she swiftly knocks him out by applying tons of aura on her hand as she used it to apply pressure on his neck.

She sneaks around each men and knocks them out with every chop.

The orange haired man from earlier noticed that his henchmen were all on the ground, knocked out.

"What the?" He stares in disbelief, never noticing that Ruby is secretly observing his every move.

 _"As long as I have my aura active, he'll never notice my presence"_ She had used her aura to conceal herself, therefore allowing her to sneak around the shop unnoticed _"I just need to-"_

"Roman, come in" A female voice called in one of his pockets "Are you handling this job, like a good thief?"

"Tch" The now named Roman spat as he picked up his scroll "It's fine, I was just leaving"

He picked up the cases of dust the henchmen had already filled, and quickly fled the store.

"Sir, I'll handle things from here" Ruby called out to the Shoekeeper before exiting the store as well.

Knowing her aura was not useful in this situation, she quickly disables it and made her move.

She spots him climbing up a ladder in a near building where he would be picked up in a helicopter at the building's rooftop

"I expect you to do next job without any problems" The woman from the man's scroll earlier said from the helicopter

"Don't tell me how to do my job" Roman muttered as he stepped inside, still not noticing the girl from behind

 _"Now!"_ She converts her aura as it took the form of the standard bow and arrow, with the arrow colored red.

Ruby fires the aura formed arrow at the helicopter causing some damage.

"What the!?" Roman notices a teenage girl doing a standard arching stance as she fired another aura arrow, now color orange, at the helicopter again causing more damage.

 _"So she's the brat that took out those useless thugs"_ He thought to himself as Ruby prepares to fire another aura arrow, colored red again.

"Take the wheels" The woman from earlier takes Roman's place as the latter takes the wheels "Keep it steady"

Ruby fires the arrow again, but the mysterious woman intercepts it with her flames.

Noticing that the arrow had been deflected, she jumps to the side to avoid getting scorched by the woman's flames.

Before she would form another aura arrow, the sound of a storms and flames colliding causes her focus to shift onto a woman with a riding crop.

The woman was middle aged as she has light-blonde hair tied back in a bun with a curl hanging down the right side of her face, bright green eyes and a pale white complexion. She had quite the physique as she was well-endowed and clearly fit.

She was wearing a white long-sleeved, pleated top that has a wide keyhole neckline and gauntlet cuffs that flare in pleats at the wrist, a black high-waisted pencil skirt with bronze buttons and black-brown stockings and wears black boots with bronze heels. She also wears a cape that is purple inside and black on the outside. The woman seemed to carry a riding crop with her.

She watches the spectacle of dust manipulation against a powerful semblance, at least she considers the woman's flames one, with an awed expression.

Suddenly, the sound of thunder quickly snaps her out of her awe, as she tried to assist the woman that helped by forming three aura arrows at once, all of them colored red, as she fired them causing even more damage to the helicopter.

"Damn it!" Roman cursed trying to keep the aircraft under control "We're moving out!"

The woman heard this, and slowly retreated back into the helicopter as it flew away

Ruby could only watch with a disappointed expression, as the thief as well as the woman had escaped.

"Ruby Rose" She turns around to notice the blonde woman looking at her with an unreadable expression "There is someone that would like to speak with you, in private"

The girl could only give a tired sigh in response.

* * *

Ruby was sitting in a chair near a table, as the woman stared at her in complete silence with a stern gaze, until a man walked into the room with a scroll in his hand.

The man was a middle-aged as he has tousled silver hair, thin brown eyes and a pale white complexion. He has a normal physique that fitted his age.

His attire consisted of of an unzipped black suit over a dark green, buttoned vest and green shirt, long dark-green pants and black trouser shoes. He was wearing shaded glass spectacles and a small, purple, cross-shaped pin on the cowl around his neck.

"Ruby Rose" Those were the first words the man said scrutinizing her intently "You ... have silver eyes"

The girl shifted in her seat, clearly uncomfortable with the man observing her closely.

"I apologize for your discomfort" The man said noticing the girl's mannerisms "But I cannot help but notice that your actions in the dust store is quite the remarkable feat"

"What do you mean?" She finally spoke up

In response, the man took out his scroll and showed her the footage of what she did with her aura inside the dust shop before switching to the footage where she fired her aura arrows at the aircraft.

"Oh?" She wan tensing on what the man has to say

"I assure you Miss Rose, I am not here to punish you for your actions, but rather commend you for taking down a group of criminals, completely undetected" The man scrutinized the crimsonette even more.

"Oh that" Ruby said as she looked at the man closely for a few seconds before her eyes widen in surprise.

"Do you know who I am?" The man asked, clearly amused by the girl's reaction

"Y-You're Professor Ozpin ..." She trailed off for a few seconds "... The Headmaster of Beacon"

"Indeed I am" The man, Ozpin smiled slightly "Tell me, where did you learn such control over your aura?"

"M-my aura?" The girl stammered slightly

"It is quite the rare occurrence for someone so young to have such an advanced control over their aura" Ozpin stated

"Well, I've read a lot of books about aura since I was little" Ruby explained her stammering disappearing gradually "Oh, and I've even studied old information and mixed it with the ones today."

"Interesting." The silver haired man mused as he took a sip from his coffee "I've heard from a dusty old crow that you attend Signal Academy, now what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing studying in such a profession."

"I ... I want to be huntress." Ruby gathered some confidence "I want to protect people, but not just that, I want to protect the ones that can't protect themselves from the Grimm."

"Most of all, I want to protect them so they won't die from not just the Grimm, but from the dangers this world has to offer." She finished resolutely _"And to keep a promise."_

Ozpin and the woman were silent for a minute before the former spoke up "You have the goal, Miss Rose"

"A friend has shown me your records at Signal Academy, and they are quite remarkable as well." He revealed "With that, I would like to make an offer for you."

Ruby gulped but nodded.

"Would you like to come to my school?" Ozpin offered

 _"Wait what!?"_ The girl's mind paused _"Now?!"_

She looked at the headmaster's expression and saw that it was completely serious, but at the same time he was giving her time to make her decision

 _"At least, he's giving me a choice."_ Ruby breathed

Her mouth opened to speak.

 **To be continued ...**

 **Well, this is where I'm going to stop for now. Please be gentle in your reviews because this is my first RWBY fanfic, I need all the motivation and support to keep this story going for a bit. Before you start reviewing right away, I'll remind you that this an AU fanfic so things will be different and that also includes the canon characters' personalities due to events that I will explain later on.**

 **If you want an explanation to how I altered the first events in the first chapter in the first volume of RWBY, then I suggest you find out for yourselves by reading the scenes very closely. Thank you so much!**

 **Once again, I need some reviews or some criticism to keep this story going!**

 **I'll see you all next time ;)**

 **Next Chapter: The Invitation (Part 1)**


	2. C2: The Invitation (Part 1)

_**Whoa! I did not expect hundreds of views and visitors at the very first chapter and I published it lots of hours ago. However, I'm somewhat disappointed by the lack of reviews and suggestions. I expect at least a decent amount of them by the end of this chapter.**_

 _ **But as a reward for the hundreds of views and visitors, I shall grant you a new update!**_

 _ **Moving on, since all of us know canon like the back of our palms. Obviously, Ruby would accept immediately but that's not how I roll in this story. This is an AU fic and I will not cling on to canon events, save for a few. Let's see how AU!Ruby would take this sudden invitation, shall we?**_

 _ **Once again, I hope for some helpful criticism by the end of this chapter :)**_

 _ **PS: Whoever reviewed first, I will definitely set a different tone on Ruby as well as Remnant, as a whole.**_

 ** _PPS: Ruby's sudden invitation to Beacon isn't the only the thing this chapter is focusing on._**

It was midnight at the island of Patch, the cold winds were blowing strong against a forest near a landing pad.

Near one of the trees, a lone figure is sitting against a tall one behind two others. The figure was wearing a hooded overcoat as the hood itself obscured their face and most of their body.

The figure looked like it was asleep and it seemed as if they were waiting for something to arrive, since the group of trees were located near the landing pad. They looked like they would not wake up anytime soon.

That is until, the sound of an airship's engine came from miles away.

* * *

Ruby was backed into a corner.

Why?

It was because Professor Ozpin from Beacon Academy had just offered her to come to his school, right out of the blue.

She closed her eyes and had her mind scramble for answers, but nothing came up.

The girl shook her head mentally, she decided to see whether or not the headmaster is actually joking or not.

Ruby opened one eye to see that the silver haired man had a completely serious expression.

Which means that he wasn't joking.

But then, she also noticed that at the same time he was giving her time to make her decision.

 _"At least, he's giving me a choice"_ The girl breathed

Her mouth opened to speak.

"I'll think about it"

The crimsonette's answer seemed to catch both Ozpin and the woman off guard for a moment, before the former asks "What do you mean by that, Miss Rose?"

"It's just ..." Ruby trailed off before speaking "A lot of things are happening so fast, with Yang being sent to a hospital, me trying to stop some robbery in a dust shop, and then you offering me to join Beacon Academy"

She inhaled and then exhaled "I need some time to think about it, if you don't mind sir?"

The man was quiet for a moment before saying "Not at all, Miss Rose"

Ruby looked relieved by his answer.

"I shall give you a week to decide" Ozpin said taking a sip from his mug "I will not force you to come, if your answer is no"

"Thank you, Professor Ozpin" The girl bowed politely

"Glynda, accompany her out of the building, if you please?" The headmaster of Beacon asked the blonde woman.

"Yes, Headmaster" The woman, now named Glynda nodded "Come with me, Miss Rose"

The girl stood up from her seat and followed the older woman out of the room, leaving Ozpin to his thoughts.

 _"Ruby Rose, she is certainly an interesting individual"_ The man mused to himself before watching the events in the dust shop in his scroll again _"Especially, in regards to her aura"_

* * *

 **Ruby**

Okay, that just happened.

I think I jinxed myself when I thought that nothing would happen today, but then lots of things happened all at once.

First, the news about Yang in the hospital.

Second, a robbery taking place in a dust shop I happen to be in.

Third, me having to stop said robbery only to avoid getting burnt to a crisp.

Fourth, meeting a professional huntress while battling some lady with a fire semblance.

And lastly, meeting the headmaster of Beacon ...

... only to get invited into his school, right out of nowhere.

Is this punishment for thinking that I would have another normal day at Signal Academy?

But enough of those thoughts, for now.

I was nearing the hospital with a plastic bag filled with the things dad told me to get for Yang.

She is my sister, after all.

The doors immediately slide open as I enter the hospital, only to see dad with an expression of great concern and self-blaming.

"Dad?" I called out to him "I got the things you told me to get"

He turned around to face me before offering a forced smile "Ah thank you sweetie"

That smile was clearly fake.

"Dad" I sighed handing him the bag "You don't have to try and smile at me, if you're that concerned over Yang"

With that, he twisted that smile back into the expression he had earlier.

He sighed "I guess you have a point there"

"Dad?" I asked, curious about the incident at Vale "What happened to Yang, how did she get herself into this place?"

I was confused, Yang had a lot of strength and confidence.

So what happened?

"She ..." He looked hesitant " ... tried to help a couple of people"

"And?" I needed to know

"One of the people she tried to help" Dad continued "He had a bomb and he threatened to blow up an entire building if no one met his demands"

I tensed but didn't say anything.

"The teacher that called us to Signal also told us to meet him in Vale" What? Where was he going with this? "He tried to intervene, but the man's companion acted first and drained him of his aura"

I softly gasped at that.

"Your sister didn't take kindly to see one of her teachers getting hurt" He admitted grimacing "So she tried to attack the man with the bomb using Ember Celica"

My brows furrowed, why would Yang-

"But she ended up punching his companion right out of the window inside the building" He continued "That still didn't stop her from fighting him"

My eyes widened in surprise, why would Yang try to fight-

"It all ends with the bomb blowing up parts of the street" He was even more hesitant but still spoke "Yang ended up getting caught in that explosion"

I covered my mouth to stifle my gasp, so that's why I saw construction crew working over broken parts of the streets while I was still getting the things on the list.

That was because it all came from what dad told me what happened with Yang.

"S-So her aura?" Her aura had to take all the damage, right?

"If she didn't have her aura, she would've had more than a few injuries" Dad told me, right before a doctor walks in on us.

"Mr. Xiao-Long?" The doctor called

"Yes doctor" Dad stood up and walked with him

I was left alone to my own thoughts.

My own thoughts ...

... THE INVITATION!

I was so busy worrying over Yang, that I forgot to tell dad about Professor Ozpin offering me to join Beacon.

How should I tell him?

* * *

"Mr. Xiao-Long" The doctor said as he looked over the scroll "It's about your daughter's condition"

"How is she, doc?" Taiyang asked immensely worried

"It's true that she had her aura to stop most of her injuries" He read the contents in the scroll "However, she sustained a significant amount of damage to her lower body, and I recommend putting her in a wheelchair"

"Give it to me straight, Doctor Blyne" The blonde was more concerned over Yang "What happened?"

The doctor, now named Blyne sighed "What I'm saying, is that the injuries on your daughter's lower body has left her unable to walk for who knows how long"

Taiyang's eyes widen in shock "Y-You're saying ..."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Xiao-Long" Blyne apologized "This is the best we can do for her"

"C-Can I talk to her?" The father of Yang asked, his voice slightly quivering.

"I don't see why not" The doctor nodded "I recommend that you tell her right away"

"Yes doc" He breathed as he followed the doctor to Yang's hospital room.

* * *

 **Yang**

Ugh, what happened?

The last thing I remember is punching some jerk for trying to blow up a part of Vale ...

Huh, that's weird?

Why am I in a bed?

Why is this room so bright?

And most importantly ...

Why can't I feel my legs?

Man, I hope someone can at least explain what the hell happened after I was blown up by that guy.

I hear a door open nearby and I see dad and a doctor walking inside the room.

I see their faces and I notice that they look pretty serious about something, with Dad though, looking like he just heard something horrible.

"Dad, what's going on?" I finally spoke up looking at my new surroundings "Where are we?"

I look at dad and I see that he flinched at my questions.

What's going on?

"Yang, we're at the hospital" He finally answered

The hospital, I guess that makes sense I mean aura can't patch me up all the time, right?

I can still remember Ruby scolding me every time I overwork myself especially with my aura.

Man, my little sis reads way too much books for my taste, though I'd lying if I said she didn't need to be there for me all the time.

Besides, what kind of sister would that make me if I didn't appreciate my baby sis' concern over me.

"Miss Xiao-Long" The doctor called out to me "We have something to address to you"

"Sure, can't feel my legs though" I said not knowing the reaction I made to both of them

"That's ... exactly what I was about to address to you" The doctor coughed getting dad's attention

"Yang, I want you to know that your sister and I will always be there for you, no matter what" Dad told me gently "Yang, you can't walk"

You can't walk.

What do you mean by-

...

Wait, WHAT!

"D-Dad, w-what are you say-" The doctor cuts me off

"It's true, Miss Xiao-Long" Is this really happening!? "We don't know when your legs will recover, but I assure you that you have a family that will support you in every way possible"

M-My legs ...

... they're gone.

I can't be a huntress.

And if I can't be a huntress.

Then I wouldn't be able to find mom.

And if I can't find mom.

Then I won't find out why she left.

"Yang?" Dad tries to reach out for me "Are you okay?"

I smack away his hand.

"Okay, HOW AM I OKAY!?" I shouted, tears streaming from my eyes "I'M STUCK HERE IN THIS STUPID HOSPITAL! WITH LEGS THAT I CAN'T USE FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG!"

I couldn't handle the news, I just couldn't.

"TELL ME HOW ALL OF THIS WILL BE BETTER, HUH!?" I can't stop yelling "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FACE RUBY LIKE THIS!? HER BIG SIS NOT BECOMING A HUNTRESS!"

"Yang, I-" I didn't want to hear it.

"STOP! STOP TELLING ME EVERYTHING'S GOING TO BE OKAY! IT'S NOT OKAY!" I began thinking about Ruby and suddenly my anger started to fade and my voice started quivering "I-I don't want us to fall apart, I don't want Ruby to know that her big sis can't be a huntress"

I began thinking about my other mom.

"I-I wasn't there for her when mom died" I began thinking about _him_ "I ... I was the one that almost got her killed, I-I even ended up killing our brother"

I saw dad flinch when I mentioned _him_.

"I-I'm a terrible sister" I buried my face into my hands, old memories resurfacing in my mind "I-I'm the reason why Ruby's not who she used to be"

If I wasn't so dead set on finding our mom that night, then _he_ would still be with us today.

Then Ruby would have remained her old cheerful and happy self.

If wasn't so adamant and stubborn about bringing them into my plan to find mom.

Then _they_ would have still remained together.

Suddenly, I felt a couple of arms wrap around my body and I saw dad giving me a hug.

Something, that I hastily give in return.

"I-I just want our family back to the way it was" I whimpered as I hugged him tighter "I-Is that too much to ask?"

Dad didn't say anything, but he rubbed my back as I slowly calmed down in his arms.

The doctor from earlier chose to stay quiet and let us have our moment.

But, I could've sworn I heard someone else crying too.

* * *

 **Ruby**

Okay Ruby, you can do this.

Just tell dad that Ozpin invited you to Beacon and everything else can do the rest.

I already told the nurse where Yang's room is, so I prepared to make my way there since I know dad would be there too.

I walk down the hallways and I go to where the door number is.

Eventually, I found her room and about to reach out for the handle.

But before I could do that, I heard shouting.

"STOP! STOP TELLING ME EVERYTHING'S GOING TO BE OKAY! IT'S NOT OKAY!" That was Yang, what was she angry about.

Curiosity getting the best of me, I place my ear against the door as I heard Yang spoke once more.

"I-I don't want us to fall apart, I don't want Ruby to know that her big sis can't be huntress"

Huh? What does she mean by that?

"I-I wasn't there for her when mom died"

My eyes widen in shock, hearing Yang say those words.

I decided to listen some more, but I wasn't prepared for what she said next.

"I ... I was the one that almost got her killed, I-I even ended up killing our brother"

The moment those words were spoken, everything around me stopped.

It was like time had slowed down so I could process what my sister just said.

"I-I'm a terrible sister" As Yang continued to speak, old memories resurfaced "I-I'm the reason why Ruby's not who she used to be"

Memories of how a certain promise is made.

"I-I just want our family back to the way it was"

Memories of how my family used to be a very happy one.

"I-Is that too much to ask?"

Memories of how I nearly shut myself off from the world when _he_ disappeared from our lives.

Without realizing it too early, tears have already streamed from my eyes and I covered my mouth to stifle my sobbing as I curled up into a ball, with my knees brought to my chest as I cry my heart out.

I miss _him_.

I miss _him_ so much.

I miss my twin brother so much that I want him to be by my side, right now.

Suddenly, all of the courage I built up to tell dad about the sudden invitation vanished.

But, I didn't care.

There's just too much I'm feeling for me to handle right now.

Footsteps can be heard as they made their way to where I was.

Panicking, I immediately dashed off to where I was before arriving at this spot.

* * *

 **Yang**

I still could've sworn I heard someone else crying.

"Yang, are you feeling better now?" Dad asked still hugging me.

I guess I'm feeling a bit better now, but that doesn't change the fact that I can't use my legs for who knows how long.

"I'm fine" I whispered loud enough for him to hear me

"Do you want to see your sister?" He asked releasing himself from the hug "She's extremely worried about you"

Heh, I guess some things still stay the way they are.

"I think I'm ready" I prepared myself for whatever she's going to do.

"Very well then" The doctor spoke up, catching both of our attentions "I took the liberty of calling for a wheelchair while you two were having your moment"

So he heard us too then, huh?

As if on cue, a nurse walks in with a wheelchair prepared for me to use.

Here goes nothing then.

"I need to talk to her" Ruby deserved to know, she was family too.

Dad nodded as he, the doctor and the nurse helped me get on the wheelchair.

No turning back now.

* * *

Taiyang had opted to push Yang on her wheelchair himself as he, Blyne and the nurse made their way to the lobby where Ruby was at.

"Caren, be sure to look after Miss Xiao-Long when visiting hours end" The doctor informed the nurse

"Yes Dr. Blyne" The nurse, now named Caren nodded

The four reached the lobby where Ruby is waiting as she is sitting on one of waiting chairs.

Yang noticed that the girl's eyes were red and puffy, as if she had been crying for a while.

 _"Is Ruby the one I heard crying?"_ She mused as she was pushed closer to where her younger sister is sitting.

"Ruby?" The older girl raised her hand as she tried to reach out to the younger one

The crimsonette looked up slightly, only to see her sister in a wheelchair, her eyes widened in shock.

"Hey ... Rubes" Yang smiled nervously "Look, I know it's pretty-"

She was cut off when the younger girl pulled her into a hug. The older girl seemed surprised by this at first before deciding to return the hug.

"It's okay little sis" Yang reassured rubbing Ruby's back "I'm fine"

"I miss him" The other girl blurted

"Huh?" The blonde seemed confused by her sister's words

"I miss him so much, Yang" Ruby let go of her sister

Yang was still confused by what she said, until she sees her red teary eyes and tear stained cheeks.

 _"So she's the source of the crying I heard"_ She thought finding out the reason why she hugged her and cried _"She must've heard what I said outside"_

The older girl saw her sister's expressions when she said those words.

 _"Even after all these years, she still thinks about him"_ Yang internally grimaced _"Just how long is she gonna torment herself over it"_

"Yang, do you miss him?" Ruby's voice sounded slightly broken "Do you?"

 _"Of course I do"_ Her sister thought as she remembered what she said earlier _"I still think I'm the reason why he's gone from our lives"_

"You heard me, didn't you?" Yang asked without thinking "You overheard what I said earlier, and that's why you're crying right now"

With her words, the younger girl flinched but didn't say anything.

"Don't worry, I'm not mad" She was quick to reassure her "Just don't keep it to yourself next time, okay?"

Ruby nodded before finally taking notice of her sister's legs.

"Yeah" The older girl said having a look of melancholy "I don't know when they're gonna heal, though"

 _"I wish I could do something about it"_ The younger girl thought, mentally frowning

Yang sighed "Rubes, don't let this get to you"

The other girl seemed surprised by what her sister just told her.

"Ruby, look ..." She hesitated for a second before finding her voice "You're still in Signal, right?"

The crimsonette nodded, unsure of what she meant by that.

"Well, because of this" The blonde pointed to her legs "You're going to have to be a huntress"

"Yang" Ruby tensed, waiting for her sister to finish what she had to say.

"Not just for me, sis" Yang placed a hand on her shoulder "For us"

She then held her hand with both of hers "For _him_ "

"Yang" The younger girl didn't smile, but she felt grateful for what her sister is saying.

"And promise me that you loosen up once Beacon comes around" Yang let out a forced chuckle, not knowing the reaction she caused in her younger sister.

 _"Of course! The invitation by Professor Ozpin"_ She reminded herself of her initial plan before the array of emotions and old memories that flooded her mind.

"Sure sis, I promise I'll loosen up" It took all of her strength on her lips to force a smile.

The blonde this time, let out a genuine chuckle "I know that smile is fake, I stopped falling for that when I turned ten"

Ruby allowed the fake smile to fade away and replaced it with a slight pout "You didn't have to rub it in"

"Hehe, sorry Rubes I needed that one" Yang admitted, feeling good that her previous mood from earlier had almost faded away.

Unbeknownst to the two sisters, Taiyang, Blyne and Caren watched their interactions in silence, all with varying expressions of amusement and satisfaction.

"At least the two of them, especially the younger sister, are handling it better than I would they would" Caren smiled at the sisters' interactions

"Heh, you know them" Taiyang smiled warmly at his daughters "They always get along, no matter what"

"Yes indeed" Blyne smiled but then frowned slightly "But I have a feeling that they will not forget their past experiences anytime soon, especially Miss Rose"

The father of the two girls, then sighed "I know, I'm worried that she's still tormenting herself over that day"

 _"But hopefully, she can make peace with her past once she's old and mature enough"_ The former huntsman still held out hope for his younger daughter

* * *

 **Ruby**

After sharing a good one-sided laugh with Yang, Dad and I were told by the doctors that visiting hours were almost over.

I had to say goodbye to Yang for now, since she still needed some rest.

We went home back to Patch very late at night which meant that I had sleep right away after I changed my clothes and brushed my teeth.

But as I went to bed, all what I can think about right now, was to tell my dad about the invitation from Professor Ozpin.

After school that is, I'll have time to think about whether to come to Beacon during classes.

With that last thought, I finally closed my eyes and slept the night away.

 **To be continued ...**

 **This is where I'm going to stop again because this chapter was already getting longer than I thought it would be. Don't worry, I'll release a part two soon ;)**

 **Reviews:**

 **blueanimelover123: I appreciate the criticism and I hope I fixed any mistakes in the first chapter. Quick Question: What do you think of how I portray Ruby as a protagonist?**

 **gothboy. wxlf: I think you'll like the OCs I will come up with soon.**

 **JackTheSpades: Thanks! I portrayed her based on what I saw in her first trailer. Quick Question: What do you think of Yang in this chapter?**

 **Next Chapter: The Invitation (Part 2)**


	3. C2: The Invitation (Part 2)

_**Okay guys, here is part two of the second chapter of Tales of Remnant.**_

 _ **Note: This will be longer than the first part.**_

 _ **Enjoy ;)**_

 **Ruby**

Morning came around as I woke up from whatever dream I had last night to start the day.

I did the same routine of taking a shower, putting on my Signal Academy school uniform, preparing my own lunch and snacks, and then eating breakfast, but this time with Dad here with me compared to yesterday.

He had to leave a bit early so he could catch up with what he missed to teach his students the other day. I continued to follow my own schedules and routines until it was finally time for me to head to the academy.

I finally gained control over my emotions and resumed being mostly distant from every other student with Luke as the only exception.

Class went on like it always did, with me getting the highest grades out of everyone else like usual and then receiving envious stares for it.

Lunchtime came around, and I quickly made my way to the cafeteria and to the table I usually sit in.

I overheard thoughts on me again.

"Did you hear about what happened to her sister yesterday, it was terrible"

"I don't feel bad, she was scary as hell when I tried to teach her sister a lesson"

"What about her sister?"

"What about her, she looks pretty calm about it"

 _"That's because I was with her at the hospital"_ I thought gripping my fork tightly

"Don't listen to them" I was snapped out of my thoughts as I saw Luke approaching me, carrying a lunch tray with both hands "They're just trying to get a reaction from you"

He's not wrong about the last one.

I sighed "As much as I want to yell at them, that wouldn't help my case even further, wouldn't it?"

"Definitely not" He shook his head as he took a seat across where I'm sitting.

Usually, I would coldly tell those that sit on the table I eat my lunch in, to go away in a rather harsh yet even tone.

But with Luke, I would gladly allow him to sit anywhere in the table I'm in.

Though, my actions involving the other students and my table further reinforced my distant nature around them.

But I didn't care, even if they try to be friends with me, they would either use it to their advantage due to my grades and performances, or out of pity which is something I absolutely hate.

I hated it when someone took pity on me.

My family were the only exceptions since they would be very sincere about it.

I would also include those whom I greatly trust, Luke is an example of that.

"So what are you having?" He asked me as he stared my lunch box and snack bag.

"I'm having chicken curry with spaghetti and fried rice" I answer casually, ignoring the jealous look on the blonde's face

"Lucky for you, since I sleep in the dorms, I get whatever the cafeteria has to give" Luke pouted slightly

"If you want, then I'll add some of my lunch if it makes you feel any better" I opened my lunch box for my friend to see.

Inside was chicken curry on the left side of the box, with spaghetti on the right, and the rice on the middle. All of which, were presented neatly. The lunch box itself resembled one that regular schoolgirls would use, I even included wrapping cloth around the box.

Luke's mouth was slightly watering.

Without saying a word, I added some of my lunch on his so he could at least enjoy his own.

"Thanks Rubes" He smiled at me as he started eating.

I nodded as I also began eating.

As usual, I ignore the whispers about me.

My family may not be aware of it, but among the students I was called 'Emotionless Girl' or 'The Girl That Never Smiles'

It's not entirely untrue, unfortunately.

During parts of my childhood, every achievement I made with my learning abilities, I have not once smiled as I did. People would question me, tell me that I should feel happy about what I accomplished as a little girl, or even frown at my mannerisms as I took said accomplishments as if they meant nothing to me.

At some point, that was where the first name came around.

I have no doubt fit the picture of someone that never expresses any emotions when accomplishing something very noteworthy and memorable.

But I was far from emotionless.

Not by a long shot.

I was not aware of how much time passed by, as I've noticed that I have already finished my own lunch with Luke finishing his.

"You gonna eat those?" He asked me as I wordlessly opened my snack bag.

"Yes" I answered as I pulled out a light pink cookie with white chocolate chips.

"What is that?" He asked, obviously confused by the cookie's appearance.

"It's a strawberry white chocolate chip cookie" I replied as I took a bite.

Cookies and strawberries have always been favorite snacks of mine, ever since I was three.

So I thought, why not put them together and see what that makes.

As a result, the cookie ends up tasting so delicious, I could almost smile in joy.

"I see" Luke mused before pulling out a snack bag of his own "I got some homemade chocolate biscuits, if you'd like?"

"Give me some" I reached out using my left hand while eating cookies with the right.

He puts the biscuits in my hand and I eat them immediately.

That was so good!

I wonder who came up with the recipe, I must know.

As I ate the snacks, a rare blush graced my pale face as I sighed contently before eating more.

Luke chuckled "At least you can blush"

I huffed mentally, it's not my fault these biscuits taste so good.

The same can also be said about my cookies, since I baked them myself.

"How about we take this elsewhere" I stood up as I closed my snack bag "To combat class, which is starting soon"

He nodded as closed his as well before following me out of the cafeteria, all while ignoring the looks from the other students.

 _*TIMESKIP*_

Combat class.

The one class that truly cemented my status among the students.

"The winner of this battle is ..." A teacher from the sidelines called "... Darcy Coleman!"

I narrow my eyes at the girl in the ring where students would battle/spar.

Her name is Darcy Coleman and she is no doubt the school bully and a huge racist to faunus with a huge following.

She's arrogant, conceited and loves bullying the faunus. She tried to pick on me once by threatening to sabotage my grades, but I quickly held my ground and humiliated her in front of the other students through defeating her in combat without the use of my weapons, which took a great hit at her pride.

But right now, I could feel that she has her eyes on me.

"Rose" She all but growled "Get your bitchy ass down here!"

I narrow my eyes dangerously but didn't say anything as I stood up to go change out of my uniform

I could hear Luke gulp right behind me.

 _*A FEW MINUTES LATER*_

I walk into the ring where Darcy was with only a curved blade in my right hand.

I was wearing the school training attire, which consisted of a skintight short-sleeved jumpsuit with the legs reaching the thighs as the attire itself was colored black with some red and white stripes. My hair was also tied into a small ponytail.

She notices me and smirks "You gettin' arrogant, Rose."

"You're the arrogant one, Coleman." I spat as I got into position.

"Heard about what happened to your sister when your old man came into class." Her smirk widened "I'm disappointed, your sister was one of the strongest."

She pointed her weapon at me as she proceeded to taunt me again "To hear about her condition is such a shame, you know?"

Despite my rising anger, I kept it completely hidden with a cold expression.

"If her legs didn't survive that bomb." She bared her teeth as she grinned smugly at me "Then that means she's weak."

We stared at each other for a few seconds in complete silence.

"Uh, Miss Rose?" The teacher from earlier asked "Are you sure about fighting her, she's gotten considerably stronger these last few months"

"That's right" I turn to see Darcy, still grinning "All I had to think about was smashing your teeth in when I'm done with you."

That's all talk and no show.

Allow me to wipe that smug grin off your face.

Before the teacher would say anything, Darcy immediately charged at me with her weapon shouting "Die!"

I narrow my eyes as she continued to charge at me, before stepping to the side at the last second.

"Huh?" Was all she said before I knock her out with the back of my blade, after which I place it back on it's sheath.

The students went silent as they processed the fact that I beat one of the strongest with just one move.

"Damn" said one student

"Your actions were meaningless." I closed my eyes as I began to walk off stage.

"I'm not done yet." I heard Darcy cough from behind as she shakily stood up

She growled as she glared at me fiercely "I'm not done yet, you bitch!"

I knew what she had meant by those words.

Her body lights up in flames and her eyes turn red.

She possesses the same semblance, like my sister.

Damage Absorption.

"DIE!" She charged at me again.

But, I had already anticipated that sort of move.

I raised my hand again, but this time ...

The students gasped.

... I caught her fist before it would collide with my face.

"Damn it!" She cursed as she used her other fist.

I simply caught it again with my other hand.

She glared at me and growled, baring her teeth.

I gave her the iciest glare I could muster, before giving her a massive headbutt.

But that did not stop her from trying to get a hit on me as she charged again.

My response?

I grab her, stopping her as her fist was a few inches away from my face, by the neck and lifted her up, surprising her and the other students, even the teacher.

"You're not the only one who's gotten stronger" I say coldly

"You-" I cut her off with my icy glare, sending a chill down her spine.

"Allow me to give you a friendly warning" I pull her close enough for me to whisper at her ear

"Your arrogance will be your demise" I whisper in an eerily calm voice

I used my free hand and curled it into a fist as it began glowing a white aura.

She paled as she began to plead "P-Please, have mer-"

I cut her off as I gave her a hard punch to her stomach, I twisted my fist and dug it even further to contribute to the pain Darcy is currently in.

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, as she was sent flying out of the ring and crashes into the wall afterwards.

Yang would be proud that I gave her a piece of my mind.

The students were in complete silence, as if to process my actions.

The teacher hesitated for a few seconds before announcing "M-Miss Rose, is the winner!"

No one cheered due to the events that quickly transpired.

But I didn't really care for their reactions, I simply had to drill some knowledge into her thick skull.

 _*A FEW MINUTES AFTERWARDS*_

"Ruby!" I heard Luke as he ran towards me.

"Luke?" I raised an eyebrow as he slowly catches his breath

He faced me and grinned "Damn, I didn't think you'd show your cold side to her."

"That means nothing." I said evenly "She was already wasting my time, so why would I bother to humor her with my indifference."

"See?" He grinned again "When you show your cold side, you pretty much talk like that."

"Is that all you're here for?" I turn around and made my way to the weapons forge.

"Hey Rubes, wait up!" Luke called, running behind me.

I sighed as I allowed him to catch up with me as we made our way to the forge.

 _*ANOTHER TIMESKIP*_

The weapons forge was one of my favorite parts of Signal Academy by itself.

Students were allowed to build and craft their own weapons, so I go there on a daily basis to provide maintenance over the weapons I made.

Though I made more than one weapon.

I went over to my locker, opened it, and pulled out three different weapons.

The first ones were two automatic pistols that shoots out dust rounds, and they take on the form regular gauntlets, similar to the ones seen as a part of a knight's armor, but longer and without the hands.

The second ones were twin curved blades, I still had one of them by my waist as the sheaths were on a modified dust infused belt that also held eight to ten ammo cartridges for my pistols along with a dust pouch.

The last one was a katana as it's blade was a darker shade of gray with a crimson red handle, and is kept on a dust infused light red sheath with yellow and white highlights.

Each weapon was unique in their own way, as the pistols can disguise themselves as gauntlets which can be easily mistaken as a fashion statement, the twin blades can be thrown in the air as they can return to it's user which allowed them to be used as boomerangs, and the katana was sharp enough to cut through stone and metal which is why it is kept in a dust infused sheath.

Truly, the best part about them was the fact that I made all three weapons all by myself.

Like I said before with combat class or any other class, this also cemented a part of my status among the students.

I often had to conceal my passion and enthusiasm for weapons behind a mask of indifference and coldness.

Only with the teachers is where I would show my passion for them.

I pick up the katana and unsheathed it, the blade was long and extremely sharp. Just the way I made it to be.

Luke walks up from behind me and stares at it for a moment before saying.

"Now that's a katana!"

I raise an eyebrow at what he just said before simply going back to maintaining my weapons' cleanliness and functionalities.

The more I spend time working on my weapons, the more I think about what would I do with them.

And then Ozpin's offer comes to mind.

The offer to come to Beacon Academy.

The offer to skip grades for such a prestigious academy.

"Luke?" I called out to him

The said boy made a 'hmm' in acknowledgement.

"I need you to keep a secret" I turn to him with a serious expression "If you don't mind?"

"Yeah sure" Luke smiled "What is it?"

"I have been offered to join Beacon Academy by Ozpin himself" I answered bluntly.

"What!?" His jaw dropped, not expecting that kind of secret.

"Unfortunately, it's true" I sighed "I don't know what to do about such a decision."

It took him a few seconds to recover before saying "Are you kidding me! That's so cool!"

I shushed him, putting my hand over his mouth.

"Inside voices please" I scolded lightly

"Oh right" He coughed before saying "What I'm saying is, you actually got invited by the man himself?"

"It's true" I nodded "But I don't know how I should tell them or convince myself to go, which is why I'm asking you, whether I should go or not"

"Asking me for help then, huh?" His smile never left his face "I'd say go for it"

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, my brows furrowed "Surely you-"

"Which is why I'm saying go for it." He gave me an encouraging smile "I bet skipping a few grades would challenge your learning skills, right?"

"True, but what about my family?" I asked sternly

"Just tell them" Luke placed a comforting hand on my shoulder "I bet they'd support you, no matter what"

I didn't say anything for a few moments before sighing tiredly.

"You have a point" I admitted looking over to my weapons "I am curious to see as to how my weapons would do against the Grimm"

"See? That's not so hard, right?" He smiled at me "I personally think you'll do great!"

"Do you think so?" I almost felt like smiling "Admittedly, I almost considered turning down his offer."

It was almost true, my thoughts nearly hinted at turning down the headmaster's offer when asked me out of nowhere.

But I'm not the type to show my thoughts to anyone, right?

"Don't be like that" Luke said, his smile never leaving "Like I said before, I think you'll do great in Beacon!"

I felt a slight tug at my lips as it twitched upwards.

"Is that a smile I see?" He asked teasingly

As if in response to his words, the feeling on my lips quickly faded away as it was replaced with a sigh.

"Honestly, I didn't expect that you of all people." I closed my eyes "Would convince me to accept the headmaster's invitation"

The boy did not take kindly to my words as he flushed in embarrassment "H-Hey, I can be encouraging!"

"Then why do you still fail to convince the girls of this school to appreciate your charm?" I deadpanned as I raised an eyebrow

"W-Whatever!" He folded his arms and huffed.

I sighed "In anyway possible, I suppose your words have some form of merit, such as the concept of my learning skills being challenged." I cupped my chin thoughtfully.

"You're showing a lot of your cold side, you know that?" Luke asked, before I blankly stared at him.

...

Honestly, as much as I appreciate his company. He can be very assuming of how I talk, since that would usually change, depending on my mood. It would always annoy me to no end.

"Just because I have a cold side." I spoke up as my eyes turned cold "It doesn't necessarily mean I wouldn't talk like this normally."

I heard him gulp at that.

"S-Sorry, I just thought-" He shook his own head "Y-You know what, forget what I just said earlier."

"However, I thank you for your words." I said, my eyes softening "I believe I should use this opportunity to tell my father of the news, since he is here today."

"You should" He smirked "After all, I for one think that your skills are more than enough for you to join Beacon Academy."

I nodded as I turn around and headed for the door "Look after my weapons."

I could feel him smiling warmly from behind as I left the weapons forge.

* * *

Taiyang had a long day.

Why?

He had to explain to his students of his absence from the previous day and how Yang is no able to become huntress.

Some of them were shocked, while some cheered.

Afterwards, he had to work on multiple lesson plans, including some combat lessons for the more physically strong students of the school.

Now, he was in the teacher's lounge processing the news he heard from one of the combat class instructors.

What did he hear?

He had just heard the news of what happened during combat class with Darcy Coleman and Ruby Rose.

As well as, Ruby's behavior during said class.

The former huntsman sighed _"I don't blame her for getting angry when Yang was insulted."_

He looked at the footage on his scroll _"Heck, I'd get angry if anyone insulted my daughters."_

There was a knock on the door.

Raising an eyebrow, he went over to the door and opened it.

Only to reveal Ruby on the other side, with an expression that said.

'I need to tell you something in private'

Before she could speak, Taiyang raised his hand to stop her from doing so.

Wordlessly, he went outside the lounge and closed the door behind him.

Now alone with his daughter, he faced her and said "What do you need, kiddo?"

"I have something to tell you." She said, rubbing her arm nervously.

"Sure" He said waiting for his daughter to continue "What do you need to tell me?"

"Professor Ozpin has invited me to Beacon Academy." The crimsonette said bluntly

"What!?" Taiyang shouted, not expecting this kind of news.

Ruby sighed as she then proceeded to tell her father everything from the robbery at Dust 4 Dawn to Ozpin inviting her to Beacon Academy, as well as telling him how she reacted on both situations.

The former huntsman took a few moments to process the new information he is given before sighing "I always knew that you were special at some point, but I didn't think it would catch the attention of good old Ozpin."

"Dad, I know it feels." She sighed, before looking thoughtful "Luke said that I should accept the headmaster's offer, but even with his encouragement, I am still unsure of whether to take the offer or not."

"Am I even that special?" The girl questions, more to herself than to her father.

With those words, Taiyang immediately went into father mode as he placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"Ruby, listen to me when I'm about to say this." He said getting his daughter's attention.

She nodded as he continued.

"You ARE special." The former huntsman said as he placed his other hand on her other shoulder "I've seen some of your skills, and they DEFINITELY aren't anything to sneeze at, especially your learning skills."

"But, what if I'm not good enough." Ruby whispered, looking pensive "I've heard some rumors about students failing at Beacon's initiation or some that were unfortunate enough to be killed by the Grimm."

"I know that." Taiyang said, also hearing of the rumors "But that doesn't mean you should give up, right?"

"But, ..." She trailed off for a moment before finding her own voice "What if I'm not strong enough to be a huntress."

The girl's expression turned into one of sadness and self-doubt as she went silent again.

"What if I'm not strong enough ..." She found her voice again " ... to fulfill my promise to _him_ "

 _"There she goes again"_ Her father thought worriedly _"She still thinks about him, regardless of how much time has passed"_

He mentally shook his head from his own thoughts as he spoke again "Well I for one, believe that you'll do great things as a huntress."

"But-" The father cuts her off again.

"You ARE special to me and Yang, no matter what the others say." He smiled gently at his daughter "Regardless of what you choose, Yang and I will be ready to support you in anyway possible."

Ruby was taken back for a moment before saying "Thanks, Dad"

"Don't mention it" Taiyang said before remembering the time "You better head back to classes now, okay."

The girl nodded before walking away.

 _"I still hope that one day ..."_ He watched as his daughter walked off to class _"... that, you'll make peace with his death."_

* * *

 **Ruby**

I had a lot to think about today.

I returned to the weapons forge to remind Luke of our classes, to which he responds by following me.

But not after putting my weapons back in my locker.

From there, I spent the rest of the day contemplating whether to accept Ozpin's invitation or not.

I then remember Luke's words, he did convince me somehow to consider the offer, but doubt began to cloud my train of thought.

But then talking with Dad, allowed my doubt to disappear significantly as I gained some lines of thought, regarding the matter.

When classes had ended, I quickly made my way back home, but for some reason, I packed my weapons with me along the way.

I was lucky that the teachers allowed me, just as long as they remained intact.

I returned home without running into any problems, as usual.

Afterwards, I immediately placed my weapons in my room as I change into the outfit I usually wear at home.

I was staring at the ceiling as I lay in my bed.

I began thinking of the words said to me by Dad and Luke.

Without thinking, I made my way to one of the cabinets and pulled out an old picture.

Inside the picture, was myself when I was five years old and I was smiling happily with my eyes closed, compared to what I am now in the present.

Next to me was a boy, the same age as I am in the picture. He had black hair with red streaks, silver eyes, and even had the same skin tone as I am. He was smiling calmly, but clearly happy as well.

His name was Rune Rose.

He was my twin brother.

But now, he's gone from our family's lives forever.

Just like mom.

Old memories resurfaced, yet again.

 _*FLASHBACK (TEN YEARS AGO)*_

I was sitting at one of the more natural parts of Patch and I was close to a small creek as I watched the water flow while sitting on the grass.

"Ruby, are you there?" A voice called out to me, as I turned to the source.

My twin brother was standing there, looking concerned for me.

"Brother?" I said, surprised by his sudden appearance.

I called him 'brother', because he was the older twin and I looked up to him, despite both of us being the same age.

He shook his head "Just call me by name please."

"O-Oh, sorry" I said sheepishly, rubbing the back of my head "What is it, Rune?"

"All of us were worried sick, when you ran off from us like that" Rune walked up to me as he sat next to me

"I'm sorry." I apologized in a small voice "I just wanted to know what mom was like when she was a huntress."

I ran away from my family earlier, because dad didn't want to answer any of my questions about mom.

It was especially upsetting when he tried to make me forget what I was asking for earlier, by giving me toys or any other kids stuff that I didn't like.

Thinking about it right now, it was kind of embarrassing that my brother would be the one to find me first.

"Hey, no need to feel bad about it." My brother said, trying to reassure me.

"Why do you say that?" I asked, bringing my knees closer to my chest.

"If dad isn't gonna answer our questions." He then stood up and had his hand reached out to me "Then we become huntsmen and huntresses ourselves."

"Huh?" I wasn't expecting that kind of answer.

"Think about it, if mom was a huntress then she must know a lot of people from her missions." Rune smiled at me "If we had the same job as her, then we could ask them and they would be the ones to answer our questions."

I had to admit, it sounds both reasonable and ambitious.

"Not just that, but we can save as many people as we can so they won't up like her." My twin explained further "Even if she wanted us to live peaceful lives, she would at least be proud that we're saving lives from the Grimm, isn't that what huntsmen and huntresses do, right?"

I stared at him for a moment, before asking.

"Do we get cool weapons and semblances?" I released my knees from my chest.

"Yup" He closed his eyes and smiled at me, still holding out his hand.

I looked at his hand, before grabbing as I stood up.

"Then you promise that we would become super cool hunters." I said, my enthusiasm slowly bubbling up in my chest.

"I promise." Rune smiled warmly at me

"Okay!" My excitable side finally resurfaced "Then we pinky promise!"

I held out the pinky from my hand for emphasis.

He stared at me for a few seconds before smiling and his held his own pinky finger around mine "Pinky promise."

"You're the best brother ever!" I immediately give him a hug "When do we start!?"

"Hold on there, we're still five." He said, quickly shooting down my excitement, before saying something that brought it back slightly "We can at least tell dad about it when we get back."

"Alright then." I smiled brightly at him "Let's go home!"

He nodded as both of us made our way home back to Dad and Yang.

 _*END FLASHBACK*_

I remembered the day where Rune and I promised each other to become hunters, to not only find out more about mom, but to save the lives of the people of Remnant.

A single tear went down my eye as it fell onto the picture.

Even to this day, I still remember the promise we made.

Suddenly, a feeling of determination crept up in my head as I stared at picture a little longer.

I _will_ fulfill the promise we made.

I _will_ honor my brother's ideals.

I _will_ save as many lives as I can.

Most of all, I _will_ accept Ozpin's offer, if it means becoming a full fledged huntress.

For mom.

For Rune.

I went out of my mom and down the stairs, as I saw dad watching a TV program of sorts.

"Dad!" I called, getting his attention as he turned his head to me "I accept Professor Ozpin's invitation!"

He smiles sadly at me, before pulling out his scroll for me to use.

* * *

Ozpin was the headmaster of Beacon Academy.

A school where aspiring huntsmen and huntresses train themselves to be the defenders of Remnant.

To say he received some good news, was a bit of an understatement.

"I see" The man said before taking a sip from his coffee "Miss Rose accepts the offer?"

"Yes, headmaster." Glynda responded "She has informed me herself, via scroll."

"Excellent." He said lacing his hands together "You are dismissed."

The blonde nodded as she left his office leaving the headmaster to his thoughts

 _"With Ruby Rose among the newest addition to Beacon Academy."_ Ozpin mused as he stared at Ruby's files from Signal Academy, handed to him by his old friend, Qrow Branwen _"The new generation of this year will certainly be interesting."_

* * *

The sounds of an airship came even closer, as the unknown figure had awoken from whatever sleep they had.

They sat up slightly to get a better listen to the sounds coming even closer.

Strong winds suddenly blew off the figure's hood, revealing a girl with black hair with red streaks.

The figure was none other than Ruby Rose herself.

She still had her eyes closed as the sounds came even closer.

An airship can be seen landing on the same landing pad near the group of trees, the girl was resting in.

Near the landing pad, was a small building where passengers would wait for airships.

At the walls of the building were her luggage and weapons as they rested on a small bench.

As soon as the airship lands, Ruby opens her eyes.

 **To be continued ...**

 **Yet another quick update! The second part was even longer than the first, but I usually wouldn't care much for chapter lengths. Guys please, while I appreciate the amount of reads it was getting despite having only published two chapters. I need some reviews and criticism to motivate me as story goes on.**

 **Quick Question for all the readers that will review: What are your honest opinions on Ruby having a cold side? But don't ask me to change it since it was my decision to write her like that. It is an AU after all.**

 **Next Chapter: Beacon Academy**


	4. C3: Beacon Academy

_**Hello everyone! I hoped to receive some great reviews, but at least some of them were encouraging. This chapter will surely focus on Ruby going to Beacon Academy, but with a bit of a twist ;)**_

 _ **PS: I will also introduce three new OC's along with a certain blonde knight and an ice queen.**_

 _ **Quick Question: How are all you enjoying, reading the story in Ruby's POV?**_

 _ **Anyway, on the story!**_

 **Ruby**

The airship making it's way to Beacon was surprisingly taking it's time to arrive there.

Not that I'm going to complain about it. In fact, the ride was rather peaceful and I even took the time to take another nap.

I was waiting for it to arrive at precisely midnight.

I yawned as I wake up to many students talking or interacting with one another.

It was around six thirty in the morning, but I'm guessing that the airship is taking long to arrive at Beacon, because it had to pick up it's new students first.

The clothes I'm currently wearing, was vastly different from the ones I wear at home.

I wore a white long-sleeved dress shirt with a semi-formal black vest and a dark gray necktie, and a red and black plaid short skirt with thigh high black stockings and knee high gray combat boots. I also wore crimson red headphones with a butterfly design on my head as they covered my ears, as well as wearing black leather fingerless gloves in my hands.

Most of all, I wore a dark red hooded overcoat that reached over my knees slightly.

Very different compared to what the other soon-to-be students were wearing, as their outfits consisted of either armor, something traditional, or basically anything flashy.

I didn't see the point in wearing such attires, so I opted to wear something casual.

Sure, those kinds of outfits were practical since all of us are going to fight the Grimm.

But my aura, as well as my weapons and semblances were more than enough for me.

Why 'semblances' instead of 'semblance'?

The answer is quite simple.

To my family and my old school, they believed my semblance was highly advanced aura manipulation as it allowed me to convert and manipulate my aura, shaping it into various objects, forms, and weapons.

Just like the aura formed bow and arrows I used during the robbery of that dust shop.

But little do they know, that I obtained a second semblance from around my age of twelve.

I have obtained that semblance due to my higher understanding of aura.

My knowledge of aura was something that I kept to myself, since it wouldn't be understood by the people around me.

That included my family and Luke.

"Excuse me" A voice suddenly called to me, snapping me out of my thoughts "Is this spot taken?"

The person who called me was groaning when they said that.

I turned to the person and saw that it was a boy.

He had messy blonde hair with dark blue eyes and fair skin. His physique was slightly above average with some toned muscles. The boy wore a diamond-shaped chestplate cut off above his lower abdomen and white spaulders with rerebraces set under them. Underneath the armor, he wears a black short-sleeved hoodie with detached reddish-orange sleeves. He also wore blue jeans with a white patch on the left knee, as well as black sneakers. He had elbow guards with cords strung through them and wears black high tops.

He has two belts crisscrossing his waist, both different shades of brown, with a pair of small pouches on them. Lastly, he wears brown wrist-length gloves with exposed fingertips and small metal plates over the back.

His face was a light shade of green as he turned to me.

"E-Excuse me?" He groaned as he shakily tried to stand up by himself "Do you have any bags or something-" he retched "-I can use to get this all out of me."

It was clear that the boy had motion sickness.

So I decided to cut him some slack.

Wordlessly, I opened one of my bags as I pulled out a plastic bag that contained a box of Luke's homemade biscuits.

He was more than kind enough to give me some snacks, before I began waiting for the airship until midnight.

I pulled out the box from the plastic bag, before I reached out the said bag to the boy, who looked like he was going to vomit at any second.

The boy immediately grabbed the bag, before proceeding to vomit inside it.

A few minutes after watching him releasing whatever breakfast he had inside the plastic bag, he tied up the bag before giving it to me.

I assume that he didn't have the strength to find a trash can all by himself, so I decided to find one myself.

"Just stay here and look after my luggage." I spoke up, after a long period of staying silent "I'll find a trash can to throw this in."

With that, I walked away from my spot, leaving the boy in charge of looking after my stuff.

* * *

 **Jaune**

Why?

Of all the rides I have to be in to go to Beacon Academy, it had to be an airship!?

I struggle to stand on my own two feet, as I desperately tried to find something where I can let out my breakfast.

While searching, I found a girl sitting on her own with probably her stuff right beside her.

I hope she has something that helps me with my motion sickness.

Using whatever strength I had, I made my way to her as I struggled to keep balance.

A few tries later, I finally made my way to her. Wow. As much as I want to let out my breakfast, the girl is really cute.

Compared to what the others are wearing, she's wearing an outfit that makes her look like she's a regular schoolgirl, if it wasn't for the long coat and fingerless gloves.

Wait no! Focus Jaune, you're just one minute away to puking on her boots.

Shaking my head, I called out to her "Excuse me?" I groaned afterwards "Is this spot taken?"

The girl seemed to notice me, but she didn't say anything and kept quiet.

I decided to speak up, but groaned in the process "E-Excuse me?" I shakily stood up on my own "Do you have any bags or something-" I retched but continued "-I can use to get this all out of me."

At least she received the message when she checked one of her bags for something I can use.

When she pulled out a plastic bag, she removed the box inside it and reached the bag out to me.

Feeling grateful, I immediately grabbed the bag from her, and let out my breakfast all at once.

A few minutes later, I was at least relieved for now. I tie up the already puke filled bag and gave it to her.

I was exhausted, but I hope the girl doesn't take it the wrong way. I really didn't have to strength to find a trash can all by myself right now.

Luckily, she understood me and took the bag from my hand.

"Just stay here and look after my luggage." She finally spoke up "I'll find a trash can to throw this in."

Yeah, I can do that.

The girl then stood up and walked away, leaving me with her baggage.

I began thinking of what kind of conversation I'm going have with her, once she gets back.

Wait a second!

I just realized something, I never even got her name!

Groaning, I lay down on the floor as I began to think about what the initiation for Beacon is.

* * *

 **Ruby**

It took me awhile, but I finally found a trash can to throw away the now vomit-filled bag in.

Afterwards, I made my way back to where my spot usually is.

But it was then I realized how much people are there inside the airship.

Perhaps I should take this opportunity to at least interact with a few of the people in the crowd.

That's what Yang wanted for me when I told her the news of being accepted to Beacon. She was very proud of me and even said 'Watch out Beacon Academy, my baby sis will blow you away with her smarts' or something like that.

I was always better than her academically, but she was completely fine with it.

Only time will tell when her legs will recover. She may have slightly recovered emotionally, but she now has to rely on someone to move her, every now and then.

I could feel that it was a huge blow to her confidence, but that didn't stop her from supporting me, right?

Sighing, I made my way into the crowd as I slipped between the soon-to-be students.

Along the way, I accidentally bump into someone.

"Oh!" I turn around to apologize "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's alright young miss, I assure you it was an accident." A voice cuts me off.

As I turned around to see who I bumped into, I immediately took note of the person's appearance.

The person I bump into is male.

The boy's appearance was that he had slightly messy black hair, azure blue eyes and fair skin. He has a slightly above average physique with some slight muscles. He is wearing a dark blue blazer over a white dress shirt, gray jeans, and black and white sneakers. He is two years older than me, just like all other students.

Interestingly, he has a large sheathed blade on his waist that practically screamed transforming weapon.

He seemed to be giving me a friendly smile, and is holding out his hand for a handshake.

I observe his expression for a quick second, and notices that he has no ill intention towards me.

Sensing that he is being friendly, I grab his hand for a handshake before letting go.

"I believe it is the right time that we introduce ourselves." The boy said in a polite and gentlemen-like voice "My name is Ezra Williams"

So his name is Ezra Williams, if I recall correctly from one of the books I read back at Patch. His first name means "helper", while his surname means "desire", "helmet" or "protection".

I would often read the meanings of names, especially in my free time, both in Signal and at home.

Surprisingly, his name doesn't follow the law of names that involve colors.

Judging from what his name means, he must be a helper of some sorts.

Nevertheless, I decided to introduce myself as well.

"Very well then, my name is Ruby Rose." I respond in the same voice he used.

"Ah, so your name means the color red." Ezra smiled politely "How fitting for a young maiden, such as yourself."

From the way he talks, I assume he must come from a rich family of some sorts.

"You know, it's not very polite to analyze people like that." His voice snapped me out of my thoughts "Especially those whom you have just met." I looked at him in surprise.

Huh, he's both observant and perceptive.

"I know what you're thinking, young miss." He smiled at me "My mistress always told me that I'm more observant than I let on, I don't know about being perceptive, I usually interact with others to gain a better understanding of them rather than simply observing them."

Mistress? So that means he is a helper, I think?

"I apologize for what I did earlier." I said in a polite tone "I was simply musing over your name."

It was true, but I still don't know how I managed to find a book with names that don't associate with colors.

"I see, but there is no need to apologize over something trivial." Ezra reassured "You were simply curious, after all."

He's not wrong about me being curious over his name.

However, I must move to a different topic.

"So you are enrolling in Beacon as well?" I asked, folding my arms

"Indeed, I have not only come to this school to become a huntsman, but to also accompany Miss Schnee, since she too is enrolling in Beacon as a huntress." He explained

Weiss Schnee, so he is serving the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company then.

As if on cue, a female voice calls out "Ezra!"

He turns around to see the source of the voice and smiles "Miss Schnee, I apologize for leaving you in the crowd like that, it was not my intention to do so."

The source of the voice simply sighs in response, before I take a good look at them.

 _"So this must be her then"_ I thought to myself as I observed their appearance.

The person that called out to Ezra is a girl, also two years older than me.

She has white hair pulled into an off-center bun tail on the right side that is pinned with an icicle shaped tiara, pale blue eyes and pale skin, but has a crooked scar that runs vertically down her left eye. She has a petite build and is only one inch taller than me, but her heels only make her slightly taller than that, though it's not much.

The girl wore a thigh-length strapless dress with a faint color gradation from white to pale blue at the hem, a small piece of black lace sits in the front of her neckline and the hem of the dress is scalloped and stitched to resemble snowflakes, with layers of white tulle under her skirt. Over this, she wears a bell sleeved bolero with the same color gradation as her dress from shoulder to wrist, lined in red and with a ruffled collar.

She also wears a small apple pendant on a silver chain, and thin rectangular silver earrings. Her boots are white, wedged heeled and higher at the back than the front. They have a silver decoration across the top of the boot and are lined in red. A thin white sash is tied around her waist with a pouch attached to the back.

Her name is Weiss Schnee.

She is the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company.

I'm going to assume she has connections with Ezra.

"At least, you didn't get lost on purpose." Weiss spoke up before noticing me "Thank you for finding him."

Huh?

"What do you mean by 'finding him'?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"That is because I am her personal butler and childhood friend." Ezra answered for me.

The white-themed girl could only flush at his words "Y-You didn't have to mention the first one!"

I raise an eyebrow in curiosity.

"I apologize for that Miss Schnee." He bowed politely "I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"Furthermore, you promised to call me by my first name!" She pointed her finger at him, still flushing in embarrassment "I thought we talked about this already?"

Ezra could only smile "Apologies, I have simply forgotten about what you had told me, Weiss."

"That's better." Weiss sighed in relief, before scrutinizing me.

I can tell that she is observing me, just like what I did with her.

"You seem younger than most of the students here." She spoke up, still observing me "How old are you exactly?"

"Fifteen" Was my simple reply.

Weiss could only observe me even more.

"Despite your age, you have an aura that holds a great amount of maturity in you." She spoke up again "Tell me, how did you get yourself enrolled in advance?"

"Headmaster Ozpin personally invited me himself." I answered, unfazed by her observing me up close.

Ezra coughed into his hand "It seems that Miss Rose is not bothered by your gaze in the slightest."

"I can see that." Weiss said before sighing.

"Forgive me for asking this, but are you two close?" I asked, curious of their relationship.

"Indeed we are, Miss Rose." The boy smiled, looking at the older girl "Her family took me in, after certain circumstances happened in my childhood."

I could sense that he was hiding a bit of sadness and melancholy in his eyes when he said that.

"I can't deny that he was good company, ever since I was a little girl." Weiss affirms, looking at the boy "Klein took it upon himself to train him to be a proper butler, if father was going to let him stay."

She said the word 'father' like it was a curse word for her, something that did not go unnoticed by Ezra.

"Weiss, I assure you that I have gotten over what I experienced in the past." He said placed a hand on her shoulder "I don't hold any ill will towards your father and your younger brother."

"I know that, but ..." She trailed off, not knowing what to say next.

"Family problems, huh?" I spoke up, getting their attention.

"How would you know about it?" Weiss asked me, not out of annoyance but out of curiosity.

It wouldn't be fair if I didn't answer her.

"Believe it or not, I had a twin brother with such big dreams of becoming a huntsman." I explained, feeling a great sense of nostalgia "He wanted to save as many lives as he could from not only the Grimm, but from the dangers of the world itself."

Ezra smiled at me "Then he sounds like he could be a great huntsman from how you described his dream."

"He would've been." I whispered under my breath, but it didn't go unnoticed by Weiss.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked, prompting me to look at her for a second before sighing.

"He ... passed away when he was five." I hesitantly answered.

I don't know why I felt like sharing my past to them, but so far they've been more than trustworthy in my eyes.

Not even Luke would get me to open up about myself that fast.

"Oh!" Weiss seemed shocked by this "I-I apologize for your loss, as well as pushing the subject."

There are times where I actually smiled and laughed, but they were anything but happy.

I let out a bitter chuckle "It's alright, I don't blame you for being curious."

"Even to this day, I still think about him." I looked up, smiling bitterly "That's why I'm in this school, to honor his ideals of becoming a hunter."

I used the term 'hunter', because it could be applied to both genders.

"You're training to become a huntress, because of your brother?" Ezra asked

Sighing, my lips were pulled into a fine line "Of course, but it's also a promise made by both of us."

I closed my eyes "I intended to keep that promise, even after his death."

Weiss and Ezra were quiet for a while, before latter spoke up "That's not so bad, I suppose everyone else in this airship have different reasons to become huntsmen and huntresses."

"They do." I muttered under my breath.

"Your reasons to become a huntress ..." The white-themed girl trailed off before finding her voice again "... is admirable at best, but it's all because of a promise you kept for your deceased brother."

Memories of a bloodied body in someone else's arms came to mind.

"Yes, but I'm also doing this because I also want to save as many lives as I can from the Grimm." I admitted "As well as the dark parts of Remnant itself."

Just like what my brother would say.

Ezra came forward and gave me a warm smile "I also believe that your reasons to become a huntress is admirable, not a lot of people nowadays would protect the people from not just the Grimm, but from the dangers of this world."

"I agree, but I believe it's fair that I also share my reasons." Weiss spoke up, before admitting to her reasons "I am becoming a huntress to take over the Schnee Dust Company, and run it like the way my grandfather did."

I must admit, the company itself is beginning to commit various questionable business methods. So hearing her admit to her own goal to change it, is admirable by itself.

"Your reason is admirable as well." I said, looking at the white-themed girl "I hope that you can truly save your grandfather's company before it would descend into true corruption."

For a moment, Weiss gave me a rare smile, in contrast to her serious expression.

"Hello, and welcome to Beacon!" A voice said from out of nowhere.

The three of us turned our heads to the source.

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch." It came from a screen of some sorts.

She was the huntress that assisted me in fighting the mysterious woman.

The woman on screen continued her speech "You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world." She disappears from the screen afterwards.

Ezra turned to me "It has been a pleasure making conversation with you, Miss Rose." he smiled "I hope we get along very well in the future."

I turn to him in response and said "Likewise, Ezra."

Weiss' serious expression returned "Let's go, I need some assistance in carrying the dust."

"As you wish, Weiss." He bowed as he began to follow her.

The girl turned her head sideways, and flashed me a quick smile before walking away.

I would have assumed that she would've acted rather arrogant and conceited towards me, but after interacting with her, she has shown to be quite noble in terms of her goal to save her grandfather's company.

The crowd began preparing themselves as the airship was a few meters away from landing.

Looking around, I decided to freshen myself in the girl's comfort room before heading to my luggage.

 _*TIMESKIP*_

I enter the comfort room as I turned on water from one of their faucets as I took my headphones off, as well as my gloves.

The water was cold, but it was the way I liked it. I put my hands near the running water, cupped my hands together to get some of the water and splashed it slightly on my face.

I grab a small handkerchief from my skirt and wiped the water off my face.

Afterwards, I did it again two more times before tucking away the handkerchief in my skirt and looking at myself in the mirror.

 _"Maybe I should try socializing with others more in the campus"_ I thought as I looked at my own reflection.

Before I would make my leave, I hear faint crying noises.

Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, I checked the stalls to search for the source of said crying noises.

As I attempted to open the last stall, a voice called out "Please don't come in!"

Someone was already inside the whole time, it seems.

"Hello?" I tried to open the stall's door, but the person inside seemed insistent on not letting me in.

"Please go away!" The person's voice was slightly louder.

The airship was about to land at any minute now, but I simply couldn't bring myself to leave the person inside.

After all, if they are coming to Beacon as well, then they might end up being left behind inside the airship.

"We are about to approach Beacon Academy at any minute now." I attempted to reach out to her "Plus, I'm not going to hurt you."

The person was quiet for a while, before saying "You promise?"

"I promise." I sighed as the stall opened.

The person inside the stall was a girl.

But I've noticed something on her features, before coming to a conclusion as to why she locked herself inside the stall in the first place.

She is a faunus, and a rabbit faunus no less.

The faunus herself had brown hair in a short bob hairstyle and has a pair of long brown rabbit ears on the top of her head, hazel brown eyes that seemed to have tears in them, and fair skin. She has a very petite build, to the point where one could easily mistake her for a twelve year old child.

The girl is wearing a light brown trench coat that was opened, revealing an olive green turtleneck sweater, a maroon brown skirt, black stockings that reached all the way under her skirt, and regular brown shoes. She was also wearing a huge red scarf that seemed to cover her neck.

I've also noticed one small detail on her physical appearance.

One of her rabbit ears is badly bruised, as if someone had pulled on them for a very long time.

The girl seemed shy but at same time hesitant when approaching me.

I sighed, knowing her hesitation "I know what you're thinking, but I assure you that I am not by any means a racist."

The faunus girl spoke up "Do you promise?"

"Of course I do." I said kneeling down slightly to her height "I will not harm you, nor judge you for being a faunus, so tell me what upsets you."

Her eyes watered slightly as she put a hand in one of her rabbit ears "They really hurt."

"What?" She whispered her answer, but I didn't hear her.

"I said they really hurt." I could her voice this time, but it was slightly broken, probably from all the crying she made inside the stall.

My brows furrowed as I reached my hand out to one her ears "Allow me to take a look at them."

She nodded, not saying anything.

One of my hands touched her bruised ear, to which she flinched.

"Does it hurt when I touch them?" I asked, feeling my aura build up inside me.

She made a noise of acknowledgement as she nodded again.

I looked at her ear once more, before saying "Allow me to use my aura."

"Huh?'' Was all she said as I transferred some of my aura into her ear.

It took some time, but her ear finally healed.

She reached out to touch her ear again, and then asking "How did you do that?"

"I transferred some parts of my aura into your ear, so it could heal itself." I was confused though, why didn't her own aura heal her bruised ear.

"I see then." She looked at me "Thank you"

"It's nothing really" I stood up and began making my way out of the comfort room as I grabbed my headphones and gloves.

"Wait!"

Before I could leave, I felt a slight tug at my coat's sleeve.

I turned around to see the girl again, who looked rather timid "Please don't leave me in here."

Judging from her timid demeanor, she was afraid of being left alone.

"Very well then, but ..." I trailed off, before speaking again "... how about we introduce ourselves, since we're practically strangers."

"O-Oh!" The girl seemed surprised by this, before regaining her composure "If that's what you want then, my name is Lily Scarlatina."

Sensing that she finally said her name, I said my own in return "Ruby Rose, tell me Lily."

I knelt down to her height "Why are you in this room earlier?"

The rabbit faunus, know known as Lily was hesitant for a brief moment before saying "A couple of people in the crowd pulled on my ears."

"Who did this to you?" I never understood faunus racism, but would probably never will.

"I didn't see, but I heard the voices and they were male." She answered looking down on her feet "They said I was a 'freak' and that I shouldn't live."

That got a bit of anger building up in my chest.

"Why did they do this to you?" I asked, wanting to know the reasons for such behavior.

"They did it all because I was simply a faunus." Lily looked like she was close to crying.

That does it!

"If you ever run into them again, notify me immediately." I said placing a hand on the girl's shoulder "I will make quick work of them."

"What?" The faunus looked surprised that I would say something like that.

"I will not kill them, but I will ensure that they will never harm you again." I promised, expressing something akin to a mother vowing to protect her child.

She was still surprised, but suddenly teared up as she suddenly went up to give me a hug.

"Thank you" The girl slightly whispered, hugging me as tight as she could.

"Do you want me to accompany you all the way out of the airship?" I asked in a motherly tone, as I wrapped one of my arms around her.

Lily nodded as she and I let go, but had decided to hold my left hand.

I nodded as I helped her out of the comfort room.

 _*TIMESKIP*_

Both of us made our way to where Lily's luggage is.

I had to secure her stuff first.

The rabbit faunus was still holding my hand, refusing to let it go.

Despite the fact that she may or may not be as old as me, but it feels as if she is an actual child.

It was quite endearing actually.

We reached the area of where Lily's luggage is, which consisted of a large bookbag, a stroller bag, and a duffel bag.

I allowed her to carry the bookbag and drag the stroller bag, while I carried her duffel bag.

Judging from the weight of the bag I'm carrying, I would require a large luggage trolley to push all of my luggage as well.

Lily gave me her permission for me to carry my own luggage as well.

We quickly searched for a luggage trolley, before finding one as I pushed it to where the boy was, since he was the one I left in charge of looking after my stuff.

Both of us reached the area of where my luggage is.

The boy was still there, but is asleep due to waiting for so long.

I quickly packed my bags and weapons as I placed them on the trolley, along with Lily's duffel bag. I took the liberty of wearing one of my luggage, which is a large backpack, on my back as we made our way off the airship.

As we were close to exiting the airship, groaning as well as panicking can be heard, which meant that the boy is now awakened and is presumably looking for his own luggage.

We made our way off the bullhead, before staring in awe at the size of Beacon Academy itself.

It was like a large castle with some sights for the students to take pictures at.

"Wow" Lily spoke up, still in awe "It's huge!"

"Indeed it is" I responded, before staring at path ahead of us "Let's go"

The other girl nodded as we walked towards the academy.

As the two of us looked at our new surroundings, an accented voice called out to us "Lily!"

We both turned our heads to see another girl.

She is another rabbit faunus like Lily.

The girl had a very similar appearance to the one I'm with, except that her hair was long as it reached the end of her back and that she possessed an average build, but was clearly older than the both of us.

She is wearing a long-sleeved brown jacket over a black t-shirt, brown shorts with black leggings and light brown sneakers.

I assume that since classes hasn't started yet, there was no reason to wear combat gear around campus. Plus, there aren't any rules stating that we aren't allowed to wear casual attire around the campus.

Lastly, due to her looking one or two years older than us, she is probably our upperclassman and a second-year student.

"Velvet!" Lily called out, smiling happily.

The now named Velvet walked towards us, and smiled at me "I see that you met my cousin Lily."

They're cousins, probably due to their very similar appearances. The differences are that Lily's voice did not have an accent, her eyes are hazel brown while her cousin's eyes are dark brown, her skin is slightly lighter than her cousin's, and the obvious difference of their builds.

Nevertheless, they were still related.

"Um, Velvet" Lily looked at me, before smiling at her cousin "I made a new friend today."

Friend. We have just met not too long ago, and she already sees me as her friend.

"That's great" Velvet smiled at her cousin, as she smiled at me "Thank you so much, she normally doesn't have any friends when she was younger, but for her to be friends with a human is no easy task."

It was mostly true, some faunus have a very hard time interacting with humans, such as myself.

Except unlike them, I am not a racist.

"Come on" The older girl said to her cousin "I'll guide you to where my team is."

"Okay" Lily nodded, but stopped as she looked at me again.

The younger girl smiled brightly at me as she said "Thank you for taking care of me, while I was all by myself in the stalls."

"Your welcome" I responded, as my lips twitched slightly upwards "Take good care of yourself, and don't forget to tell me about the ones that pulled at your ear."

She nodded as Velvet carried her cousin's duffel bag off my hand, before making her way back to her cousin.

"Once again, thank you for being her friend." The older faunus bowed politely "I hope we get along once classes start."

I simply nodded in response, as I saw Lily smiling brightly at me once more before following her cousin.

All by myself, I carefully pushed the trolley down the path as I pulled out my scroll.

Hopefully, my scroll should have a map of Beacon Academy by now.

 _*FIVE MINUTES LATER*_

Well this is embarrassing.

Five minutes in, and I'm already lost on the campus.

I needed to find someone to help me find my way to the entrance ceremony by now.

But as I began searching, I have already found someone.

That someone was a boy, and he was lying against a tree, looking at his own scroll.

He had short spiked messy white hair with light blue tips, particularly on his bangs, sharp yellow eyes and slightly fair skin. He had an average build and is one inch taller than me.

The boy was wearing a long-sleeved light gray v-neck shirt, dark gray jeans, and white sneakers. He also had a pair of goggles resting on the top his head, which were light red in color, as well as wearing dark red fingerless gloves.

Sighing, I walk up to him, hoping to not bother him at whatever he's doing.

"Excuse me?" I spoke up "Is there any way to get to the entrance ceremony?"

I get the boy's attention, but it was hard to read his expression as it was blank.

"The entrance ceremony?" The boy spoke, his tone blank as well

I rub my arm "I was hoping that you would show me where the entrance ceremony is."

The boy was silent for a while, before standing up and stashing his scroll in his pockets.

"Very well, I shall take you to where the ceremony is taking place." He put his hands on his pockets, and gestured me to follow him.

Nodding, I was about to push my trolley, before he stops in his tracks.

"What is it?" I asked, confused why he stopped

"I'll first show you where to put your luggage in, since we have lots of time to spare before it actually starts." He explained as turned to look at me "Is that okay with you?"

"Sure, I don't mind." I answered as I followed him.

He has been hard to read so far, but at least he's nice.

Oh right, I don't know his name yet.

"I have to ask." I said as I followed him "What's your name?"

He stopped for a second before replying "Kiyoshi Nakamura"

That's an unusual name, but then again when I read that book of names, the name Kiyoshi means "quiet", while Nakamura means "middle village".

His first name made sense since he has displayed a quiet nature.

I don't know about his last name, but I'll assume he comes from a village of sorts.

"I believe it is proper that you introduce yourself as well." Kiyoshi spoke up, snapping me out of my thoughts.

Oh right, I haven't introduced myself yet.

"My name is Ruby Rose." I introduced myself "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise" He replied as both of us continued to walk.

 _*TIMESKIP*_

Kiyoshi and I have mostly been silent throughout the walk, as we found a place where I could store my luggage away safely.

Afterwards, both of us made our way to the entrance ceremony.

"Hey Kiyoshi, can you answer a question for me?" I finally broke the silence between us.

"I'm all ears." He responded casually.

"Are you a second-year student here?" I asked

The white-haired boy seemed to think about it for a moment before responding "I am not."

"Huh?" I was honestly curious "Really?"

"You heard me, I am a first-year student like the rest of you." Kiyoshi explained "Except that I'm here before all of you were."

"I see" I nodded, accepting that kind of answer.

After a while, we finally made it to the entrance ceremony.

"It was nice talking, I think?" I said, as I stared at the crowd "I hope we get to talk later in the future."

"I don't mind at all." He answered as he made his way to the very back of the crowd.

He was leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets and one foot against the wall.

 _"I guess he doesn't like crowds"_ I thought, before heading into the crowd.

I pull out my scroll for a brief moment to check the current time.

Unfortunately, as I did someone bumps into me, causing me to drop my scroll on the ground.

"My scroll!" I tried to kneel down the ground to find it, but there was simply too many people and I end up losing sight of it.

I didn't know there would be that many students signing up for Beacon this year.

But I still needed my scroll, how would I contact any of my family members and Luke.

As I began slipping through the crowd, I end up bumping into someone again.

"I'm sorry!" I quickly apologized "I didn't mean to-"

"It's alright, you have nothing to say sorry for." The person I bump into is another white-haired girl like Weiss.

Except she had wolf ears on her head, meaning that she is a wolf faunus.

"Just be sure to watch were you're going next time." She told me as she made her way out of the crowd.

I began searching for my scroll again, but as soon as I see it ...

... someone else was already picking it up from the ground.

I narrow my eyes as I observed that person.

He was a boy with brown hair and blue eyes.

Unfortunately, I didn't observe his appearance long enough as groups of students began to block him.

However, was it me or did the boy just noticed me, before he faded into the crowd.

I don't know why I decided to go into the crowd in the first place, but then again I was trying to make my way to the front so I could get a better hear of whatever speech the headmaster has planned.

Sighing, I take a page from Kiyoshi's book and opted to be at the very back of the crowd.

As soon as I did, everyone's attention is drawn to the stage as Professor Ozpin is readying the microphone with Professor Goodwitch standing beside him.

"I'll... keep this brief." The headmaster began his 'brief' speech "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction."

The students began to whisper among themselves.

I look around as I see Kiyoshi still leaning against the wall. He almost had an uninterested expression on his face, as he watched the students whisper to themselves.

"You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." Just like that, he quickly left the stage.

I could catch some parts of his speech, and I can see why he said knowledge can only carry us this far.

Everything in this school will be advanced for me, so I plan to read up some lessons in advance, later on.

Professor Goodwitch then steps up to talk in front "You will all gather in the ballroom tonight; however, the headmaster himself recommends sleeping with your combat gear ready, because we have a special surprise in store for all of you at initiation tomorrow. Be ready. You are dismissed." She leaves the stage afterwards.

I look at everyone around me, and I see Weiss, Ezra, Lily and the boy at the airship, all of them standing in different areas in the crowd.

But I have to wonder.

What will be the special surprise waiting for us at initiation tomorrow?

 **To be continued ...**

 **This is last chapter of the Prologue Arc. The next one will the first chapter of the Initiation Arc, but it will focus mostly on character interactions that mostly involve Ruby meeting more students.**

 **I also introduce three more OCs: Ezra, Lily and Kiyoshi**

 **Next Chapter: Making New Friends**


	5. C4: Making New Friends

_**Hello everyone, welcome back to Tales of Remnant! I hope you enjoyed the previous chapter, as well as some of the OCs. I know this fic isn't a big attention grabber, but I won't give up on this story, no matter what.**_

 _ **Like I mentioned in the previous AN, this chapter will mostly focus on character interactions from Ruby's POV.**_

 _ **Happy reading! :)**_

 **Ruby**

After both professors finish what they have to say, students begin to talk among themselves, with some leaving the auditorium to do their own thing.

I am one of the ones preferring to do the latter.

Though, I'm currently thinking very hard about my past interactions with some of the students.

Ezra and Weiss have proven themselves to be quite approachable, even going so far as to reveal their reasons to become hunters.

However, thinking back to how I interacted with them, I realized something.

Why did I reveal my past to them so easily?

I don't know why I decided to tell them of my reasons to become a huntress.

The initial reason behind it was to answer Weiss' question, but I somehow went into detail by telling them about my brother and his passing, as well as why he wanted to become a huntsman.

So why?

After I had sworn to keep my brother's passing to myself, until I trusted someone. Why did I reveal my past to those two, when I have only known them for a few minutes.

It was so frustrating!

After a few minutes of being frustrated with myself on the inside, that's where it hit me.

They had an aura filled with trust and understanding, especially Ezra. I could feel their trust towards one another, even if it was subtle. I could feel their sincerity when they revealed their reasons to become hunters. Most of all, they have a certain level of empathy when I shared my past, even if they didn't show it outwardly.

I was unknowingly absorbed by their aura, which is why I shared my past and reasons to be a huntress.

Unlike back in Signal Academy.

My reasons to become a huntress were always vague at best to the ones attending the school and even to the ones running it. The aura I would feel around the other students were always filled with envy, anger, or even condescension. Whenever they try to be 'friends' with me, it's usually for their own benefit, or out of pity. Most of all, with the exception of Luke, most of the students have reasons to become hunters for selfish reasons.

It was what I thought back to earlier before I shared more details of my past, they have been more than trustworthy in my eyes.

However, it still didn't stop my memories of Rune from ever resurfacing.

I think Yang had a point when she said I should interact with others more.

So I'll try and interact with more of the students here.

But I will make sure that I trust the right people.

Luke, Ezra and Weiss were good examples of that.

I can definitely say the same for Lily and Kiyoshi, once I get to personally know them better.

As a bonus, I should probably get the name of the boy from the airship with motion sickness.

"Excuse me?" I nearly jumped when that came from behind.

Why am I always drowned in my own thoughts, only for someone else to snap me out of them.

I quickly turned around to see someone slightly familiar.

It was the boy that picked up my scroll from the ground!

Is he here to return to my scroll to me?

"Is this yours?" He asked me, pulling out my scroll from his pocket "I saw you looking at me from the crowd, so I thought this scroll belonged to you."

He really did notice me in the crowd.

"Here you go." He smiled at me, as he moved forward.

"Thank you." I spoke up, taking my scroll from him.

Afterwards, I decide to observe his appearance.

His brown hair was somewhat messy, his eyes were sky blue in color and he has fair skin. His physique is almost completely average, but is clearly a head taller than me. I'll assume his body tone is obscured by the slightly baggy clothing he wears.

Speaking of which.

He was wearing a black jacket with white lines on top of the sleeves and it was opened slightly, revealing a gray t-shirt underneath, black shorts that reached his knees, and dark gray boots that reaches mid-leg with white socks of the same length.

Overall, he seemed to be dressing rather casually for a huntsman-in-training.

Then again, there was no reason to wear combat gear around campus.

"So ..." The boy spoke up "... you wanna talk or something?"

I might as well socialize with him, since he returned my scroll without any problems.

"I don't mind." Was my simple reply.

"Cool." He smiled, before pointing a thumb at himself "Name's Shun Fujimori, you are?"

I'll put aside analyzing his name for now, I would be rude not to introduce myself in return.

"Ruby Rose" I answered, before making eye contact "What do you wish to talk about?"

The boy, now named Shun, cupped his chin in thought.

I patiently waited for him to speak up, as he seemed to contemplate on what he had to say.

After a while, Shun perked up and said "Why don't we talk about this place for a bit, then we can talk about ourselves later on."

He seems like a potential trustworthy friend to open up to, but I'll personally engage in whatever he has planned first.

"What do you have in mind?" I raise an eyebrow in curiosity.

He grinned impishly "Let's talk about how you easily got lost in the campus."

With that statement, I immediately flushed in embarrassment "H-Hey!" I pointed a finger at him "Y-You didn't have to bring that up!" I shake my head, as I glared lightly at him "Furthermore, how did you know I got lost on campus!"

Shun smirked "I saw you walk past the auditorium, and you didn't even notice."

My face turns as bright as a tomato, as I struggled to make a sentence "I-I ..."

This kind of teasing from him was enough to make feel this way at the moment.

I have never felt this embarrassed in my life, which is saying a lot of things. Back at Signal, I never once made a reaction to any of the playful teasing from Luke and Yang combined, as well as the horrible puns from the latter. This is also worth mentioning that I have never displayed those kinds of emotions back at Patch, due to how I'm already used to all the crazy things that might happen.

Perhaps being outside of Patch has opened up lots of opportunities for me to display various emotions.

He chuckled lightly, before patting me in the head "Heh, sorry about that." he smiled at me "But I'm being honest when I said you walked past the auditorium, what was the deal with that?"

Upon hearing those words, my face almost returns to normal color, but there is still a light blush on my face "I was being too reliant on my scroll to be used as a map." I explained "Plus, with pushing the trolley and all of that, I don't think I could have noticed such a thing, all by myself."

Plus, the auditorium was huge. How could I have missed that!?

"Well, if you're so embarrassed about it then." Shun said, crossing his arms "I'll drop the subject, along with the campus in general."

I sighed in relief.

"However, do you mind explaining why you check out people's bodies?" He smirked "Especially the Schnee butler and the quiet guy, see anything you like in them."

His statement brought back the massive blush I already had a few minutes ago.

Was he some sort of stalker?

Shaking my head mentally, I decided to make eye contact again, but noticed something odd about his eyes.

They were glowing yellow, a stark contrast to the sky blue eyes he had a while ago.

 _"Is this how he knew about my tendency to read others?"_ I questioned in my head _"Was it a semblance of some sorts?"_

"That's right!" Shun grinned cheekily, pointing a thumb at himself "That's my semblance!"

 _"Huh?"_ How did he know what I was thinking?

His expression made room for a small smile "My semblance allows me to enter people's minds, which allows me to read their thoughts and their memories."

If that is his semblance then, isn't it an invasion of privacy to read other's thoughts and memories without their permission.

But that didn't mean the semblance wasn't fascinating on it's own, right?

"What is the name of your semblance?" I asked curiously

"Curious, huh?" He said, smiling "My overall semblance is my ability to possess people, so you can call it Possession."

He can possess people, but how would that explain his semblance's other ability to read other's thoughts and memories?

"My semblance's ability to possess people is primary, the one with the thoughts and memories are pretty much secondary." Shun explained, further demonstrating his semblance's ability.

 _"So he really can read my thoughts."_ I thought as I offered a thoughtful expression _"A double use semblance is nothing to scoff at."_

But his semblance's primary ability, how would he use such an ability as a huntsman.

"I would use it on the bad guys to put them in prison with no sweat." Shun spoke up, smirking

A peaceful and non-violent way of taking down criminals, something I can admire.

"Though the effects would only last for an hour." He expression turned slightly serious.

So even that kind of semblance has it's limits, but then again, everything has a limit.

"As much as I want to push this conversation even further, there are things I need to think about by myself." The unexpected revelation of Shun's semblance needs time to process itself in my head.

"Sure, maybe we'll talk after initiation." Shun smiled, lacing his hands behind his head "You know, if both of us pass."

"I look forward to that." I felt the urge to smile at him.

Shun Fujimori, he amuses himself by using his semblance to tease others, usually to anyone's dismay, but has shown himself to be good-natured with his own methods of using his semblance's primary ability.

I feel like we could get along very well in the long run.

"Need a new friend?" The boy asks me, smiling warmly "'Cause I feel like we'll get along too."

At least he isn't using his semblance to embarrass me.

"I would like that." I answered honestly.

Shun smiled, as he turned around "Cool, I'll see you after initiation then."

With that, he walks away from where I'm standing.

Overall, he seemed like the type of person that one can joke around with, considering his personality.

I look around my surroundings before taking a measured sigh, I suppose I should spend the rest of the day meeting new people.

 _*TEN MINUTES LATER*_

I spend ten minutes exploring small bits of the campus, though the interiors would be explored at a later time. Probably after initiation. Though, I should put more effort into starting conversations once I meet people that might be a part of whatever team I might end up in. After all, being in a team is also a requirement to stay in Beacon Academy.

As if to answer whatever question I have regarding meeting new people, some gunshots can be heard from a distance.

Curious, I decided to walk to the source of those gunshots, but for two different reasons, and that is one, to find out the source of those gunshots and two, to try and be friends with the person responsible for said gunshots.

As I approached the source of those gunshots, I saw someone familiar again.

It was the faunus girl I bumped into during the entrance ceremony.

Interested, I observed her appearance.

She had long white hair tied into a ponytail with wolf ears on her head, icy blue eyes, and extremely pale white skin, that resembled the color of snow. Her physique was average at best, but had noticeable curves on her chest and her waist, as well as being two inches taller than me.

The girl was wearing a black leather jacket with some white and gray highlights running through it, underneath the jacket is a light gray dress shirt with only one side tucked in, a gray necktie that is hanging from her neck, a dark gray short skirt, and black knee-high boots with gray socks of the same length. In addition, small knife holsters can be seen on both sides of each boot.

She seemed to be focusing on something while holding a slightly large handgun.

I turn my head to see what she was focusing on, and saw small targets set up in both short and long distances combined. After a small while, I turn to see her eyes narrow in concentration as she pulled the trigger, taking out one of the longer distance targets.

"Are you going to continue staring at me?" She suddenly asks, causing me to yelp slightly in response.

"I-It's not that!" I shake my arms slightly in alarm "I-I just heard some gunshots, that's all!"

"I see then." She said, not looking at me "State your reason for being here."

She seemed to be the solitary type if she's asking me why I'm here.

"I am simply following what my sister has told me to do." I answered, sighing.

The girl then lowers her handgun, and turns to me with a somewhat cold expression.

I winced at the look she was giving me, but it reminded me of how I ended the fight against Darcy.

However, her expression actually softened a bit as she sighed tiredly while closing her eyes.

"You're the girl I bumped into, correct?" She asks, opening one eye.

I nodded in response.

"Then I suppose it would be cold of me to turn you away." The girl said as she walked towards me "I assume you're here to try and make conversation with me, like what you said your sister told you to do?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much the other reason why I'm here." I sighed in response.

"Alright then." She said, much to my surprise.

"You're not gonna turn me away?" I asked, surprised at how she's okay with me being in her presence.

"Of course not." The girl said, crossing her arms "I believe you would know the reason why already."

At least she isn't as cold as she seemed a while ago.

"So, can I ask for your name?" I asked, rubbing my arm.

She seemed to be quiet for a moment before sighing "My name is Yukino Miyazaki."

Interesting, the name Yukino means "To be like snow", while Miyazaki means "shrine cape".

"But, I prefer it if you call me by my last name." Yukino said, before cocking her gun again.

"Alright then, Miyazaki." It was understandable, considering that we know very little of each other.

The white-haired faunus nodded as she went back to what she did a while ago.

"Are you ..." I trailed off, before finding my voice "... getting ready for initiation?"

Miyazaki raises her gun at the target, before saying "Yes", she then shoots the target before proceeding to shoot the next one.

There was a bit of a silence between us, as Yukino continued to shoot at more targets. Jeez, how many targets did you set up for yourself? It seemed that she was not one for making small talks or even conversations.

 _"She's hard one to read."_ Like Kiyoshi, she also had a poker face.

Not that I wanted to admit it even in my thoughts, but Kiyoshi also had a poker face except that his tone was also a part of the expressions he makes, despite the short interaction I had with him.

Her's is a slightly toned down version of it, but she's still not one for talking all that much.

"Can I try?" I asked without thinking, getting her attention as she stopped firing.

"Why so?" She said, without looking away from the targets.

"Admittedly, I have somewhat terrible accuracy when it comes to long-distance targets." I admitted, rubbing my arm in slight embarrassment.

It was almost true, I have great difficulty in shooting targets that are far away, yet I have no trouble hitting targets that move. Which is kind of ironic, since moving targets are supposed to be harder and that far away targets are supposed to be easier. But, I never truly had the time to improve on that kind of flaw.

Miyazaki lowered her gun, and then looked at me with a slightly unreadable expression.

I closed my eyes and clutched my skirt in response.

"Alright then" She said, prompting me to snap my eyes open at her response.

"Huh?" Did she just accept my request without question?

"As far as I can tell, you could use a bit of practice yourself." Yukino put a hand on her hip, as she reached her gun out to me with the gun turned around.

I stared at the gun in her hand for a few seconds, before taking it.

 _"Here goes nothing."_ I took in a measured breath, as I stepped into the spot she was in.

I raised the gun at the target from far away, with Miyazaki watching me from behind.

After a few moments, I pull the trigger but it was not by a long shot, as it missed the target completely.

"I see your point then." The girl said behind me "But, prove to me that you're really bad at it."

That statement caused me to whimper a little, as I attempted to hit the target again. Unsurprisingly, I missed a lot of the targets, heck I didn't even graze at least one.

I turned around to see Miyazaki offering a thoughtful expression, as she cupped her chin while scrutinizing me.

"Have you tried recording your shots?" She asked, as she stepped forward.

"Not really no." I answered, though it does sound useful.

"To be a smart long-distance shooter, you can start logging your shots in a notebook, in a sheet, or even your scroll." Yukino explained as she took the gun from my hand "Record the condition, distance of the target, scope reading, and the result of your shot. This will let you learn from your own mistakes, and possibly identify some of your weaknesses."

Strange, why is she willing to give me advice on how to shoot from far away.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" I asked, as my brows furrowed in confusion.

This seemed to get her to think for a few moments, before saying "Is it wrong to give others advice?"

"It's not that." I said, my lips pulled into a fine line "You seemed a bit distant from others, plus you also stayed at the back of the crowd." then I remembered seeing her among the crowd of students "Furthermore, if you acted like this before, then why were you in the crowd when you clearly didn't like being in there."

"That's because I was at the very front." She crossed her arms "You bumped into me while I was making my way to the back."

Huh, that made a bit of sense then.

"If that's the case then." My thoughts went back to what's happening now "Will you give me some more tips?"

Miyazaki was quiet for a while before saying "Very well"

I sighed with some relief, feeling a bit thankful.

"However, I will say this all just once." She narrowed her eyes "I will not repeat myself, if don't listen to what I have to say."

She doesn't need to worry about me not listening to what she has to say.

"First off, you need to do breathing exercises, as well as working on your position." Yukino said, aiming the gun herself "Position and breathing are just as important as the other factors. To be a great long-distance shooter, you need to master the correct position and breathing technique."

She took a light breath, before effortlessly shooting the distanced target in the center.

"Wrap your middle and ring finger around the stock and let your index finger reach the trigger." She explained further "Make sure your grip is light, or this will affect your shot and the follow-through."

The girl then proceeds to reload the handgun by discarding the previous ammo cartridge and putting in a new one.

"As for breathing, the most accurate shots will result from a shot taken at the tip of every exhale." Miyazaki takes aim again, as she shot down another target "In general, you should learn how to coordinate these two factors until you've mastered your own unique strategy."

"But wait, I didn't see you doing any of the things you said earlier when you were taking aim?" I asked, while I listened to what she said, I didn't remember seeing her breathe in while she was honing her skills.

The white-haired faunus went silent again, before sighing "Let's just say, I've been doing this since I was a child."

From the way she explained it, I'm guessing that it's something that she doesn't want to talk about.

"Then can I ask you to help me sometime?" I asked, wanting to change the topic "I mean, if we end up being in the same team, then I would have lots of time to practice my accuracy."

Admittedly, I am a much faster learner in academics than actual combat, but that didn't mean I was bad at learning the latter. After all, I learned how to use my sword and my twin blades proficiently in the span of a single week, though my pistol-gauntlets were a second priority which is why I never had the time to improve my flaws with them.

"I wouldn't mind being in the same team as you." Miyazaki shrugged "Besides, you're different from those racist bastards I ran into after the entrance ceremony."

Wait what, she suffers from discrimination too.

"What happened to them?" She looked relatively unharmed, so what did she do to them.

"I simply defended myself from them." Yukino gave an indifferent shrug "Though it ended with one of them getting their privates crushed under my boot."

I wonder if the racist that tried to hurt her, was also the one that hurt Lily?

"Anyway, like I said before you are not like any of the other humans I've encountered before." She said, before having a faraway look that did not go unnoticed by me "At least you're one of first ones I've encountered that are like that." she muttered under her breath, but that didn't go unnoticed by me again.

But it's probably for the best that I don't ask her about it.

"Look, I know you're probably busy with your training and whatnot." I said, trying not to unintentionally upset her "But, can we just talk, even if it's for a little bit."

The white-haired faunus stared at me for a moment, before sighing "I suppose some small talk would help time pass by even faster."

With those words, Miyazaki had decided to place her gun on a belt which is hanging from a branch. Once I observed closely for a bit, she puts the gun on a dark brown leather belt with two gun holsters, one being empty while the other had another large handgun.

She came back after a few moments, with the belt now around her hips.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" I asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"Honestly, I actually have no idea." Yukino shrugged, as she adjusted her belt slightly.

"Do you have any weapons on you, besides those guns?" I asked, my passion for weapons kicking in.

She raised an eyebrow at me, before answering "I keep a long-ranged, fifty caliber sniper rifle."

"What does it do?" I questioned hastily.

"Well, it's barrel length is seven-hundred millimeters, the actual length itself is one-hundred and thirty-eight centimeters, although I can only carry eight dust rounds at a time, compared the twenty rounds my handguns would hold." She cupped her chin thoughtfully, probably to think over her weapon's functions and abilities "They can penetrate vehicles and buildings, but the recoil can send an average person back by a few feet."

"Does it transform?" I said, thinking back to my pistol-gauntlets.

"It does, the sniper can transform itself into an actual rifle." Miyazaki answered, looking up "It can hold up to thirty rounds."

A sniper rifle transforming into an actual rifle, huh? Maybe I should consider upgrading my pistol-gauntlets by giving them a third transformation which is sub-machine guns, but still being able to transform into regular gauntlets.

"That's pretty cool." I said, looking at the sky myself "I'm pretty sure you have your own reason to be a huntress like the rest of us."

She doesn't respond, but nodded silently.

I don't know why I said the second thing, but that seemed to affect Yukino, so I'll keep quiet on that.

"Hey, Miyazaki" I said, getting her attention "If you want someone to talk to, I'm willing to listen."

The white-haired girl stared at me for a while, before responding "I will ... keep that in mind." she sighed "Admittedly, I had a lot on my mind today, which is why I'm here honing my skills in marksmanship." the girl then looked at me "However, your presence has certainly eased my previous feeling I had a few minutes ago, so I thank you for that."

My lips twitched upwards, as the girl stood up "Like I said a while ago, I wouldn't mind being in the same team."

"Thank you, for sparing some your time to talk." I said, as I stood up as well.

"I wouldn't have minded a conversation with you." She said, with a ghost of a smile.

Her smile isn't an open grin like Shun's, but it leaves a lot of questions as to what she is thinking about at the moment.

I nodded in response, my lips twitching upwards even more as I turned around and made my leave.

 _*SMALL TIMESKIP*_

I continue to explore the campus, along the way I run into the Beacon Statue, much to my awe.

The statue itself featured two figures, one a male and the other a younger-looking female, standing on a rock outcropping. They are both dressed in a robe with hoods over their heads.

The male has a sword in his right hand, raised in a seemingly triumphant gesture. The younger female has a double-edged battle-ax in her left hand and looks off to the side into the distance. Below the two figures is a Beowolf looking in the same direction as the male figure.

I hoped this statue would more than inspire a lot of the students here, because I believe that being a hunter doesn't apply to just protecting the people from the Grimm, but to also protect the people from all the dangers Remnant has to offer. Most of all, to save as many lives as we can.

However, I did not inherit my brother's ideals completely, I also have ideals of my own. Those ideals involve peace between the four kingdoms, including Menagerie. My own dreams of being a huntress is to also maintain peace between the people, especially the present conflict between humans and faunus. I chose not to reveal those ideals to Ozpin, since that would raise some questions that I can't answer quickly.

"I told you, I don't want anything to do with you anymore!" A voice shouted, getting my attention.

"Kiara please!" Another voice shouted, but it was pleading "I swear, I'm no longer a part of that group!"

I turn to see two girls, but they have almost identical appearances. Interestingly, one of them is a faunus while the other is not. I am sure that she was a cat faunus, judging from the ears on her head.

The cat faunus herself, had long black hair that is tied into a low ponytail with visible cat ears on her head, amber eyes and fair skin. She had a well-defined physique, with a slightly ample chest and toned legs.

She was wearing a long-sleeved black jacket, with a white dress shirt underneath that isn't tucked in, light gray short shorts, and knee-high black boots with dark gray thigh-high stockings. The girl also seemed to wear black gloves that completely covers both of her hands.

The other girl, also had black hair but with it was let down instead, she also had amber eyes and fair skin. She also had the same physique as the first girl, but with a slightly larger chest. In addition, she also wears purple eyeliner.

She wears a black buttoned vest with coattails and a single silver button on the front. Underneath this is a white, sleeveless, high necked, crop undershirt and white shorts with a zipper on the front of each leg.

She also wears black low-heeled boots and full stockings with a color gradation of black to purple at her ankles. An emblem is visible on the outside of both thighs just below her shorts in white. On her left arm is a detached sleeve with a silver cuff around her bicep, and black ribbons are wrapped around both forearms.

A small, loose scarf is wrapped around her neck, and wears a black bow on top of her head.

I don't know how I'm good at analyzing what people wear, especially at first glances.

"You left us for that psychotic bastard!" The first girl shouted "You weren't even there for me when I was attacked by those huntsmen!"

"I left him, didn't I!?" The second girl shouted back "I came here to change myself for the better!"

"Just stay away from me!" The first girl shouted angrily, as she begins to run away from the second girl.

Only to end up crashing into me, as both of us were on the ground.

"Ugh" I groaned slightly, as the girl stood up.

"Shit!" She cursed, before grabbing my hand "I'm so sorry!" she apologized immediately "I didn't mean to run into you like that, I promise!" afterwards, she helped me up from the ground.

I probably shouldn't have stood here and watched those two argue from far away.

"It's alright" I said, getting into my feet.

"I'm really sorry for crashing into you like that, I swear I didn't mean it!" The girl apologized again.

"Like I said, it's alright." I raise my arms placating manner "What were you running away from?"

With my question, her expression quickly darkens "I don't want to talk about it."

The tone she used caused me to flinch slightly, I guess I shouldn't have asked.

"Forgive me for asking then." I apologized, bowing slightly "You looked very distressed, so I thought I might ask what's wrong."

She sighed in response, closing her eyes "I don't blame you for asking." she then opened them to make eye contact "You don't seem to be bothered by my appearance, particularly my ears."

"Why would I be?" I asked, slightly offended that she assumed I would discriminate her.

"It's just, some people here made a very big deal about my ears." The girl explained "You on the other hand, aren't bothered by them in the slightest."

"I assure you that I am not by any means a racist." I reassured her "If I was, I would've kept the criticisms to myself, than saying it out loud."

The cat faunus then smiled at me "Then I guess you're one of the first humans I meet, that isn't like that."

"Then it's an honor to be first one then." I swear, every time I meet a faunus in this school, they would call me one of the first non-racist humans they would meet, or something like that.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, as if realizing something important "I almost forgot" the girl shook her head "We haven't introduced ourselves yet, right?" she asked.

I nodded in response.

"Then my name is Kiara." She introduced herself, not saying her last name.

But that's not something I would pry into, for now.

"Ruby Rose" I responded, introducing myself as well.

"It's nice to meet you Ruby, but I'm afraid that I have to go now." Kiara said, as she began to run past me "I'll see you at initiation tomorrow!"

With that, she disappeared from my sight.

 _"She seems nice."_ I thought, before proceeding to make my way to where the second girl is.

I walked my way to where she is. Afterwards, I see her sitting on the ground, with her knees close to her chest. It looks like she's questioning herself.

"The girl you were talking to bumped into me." I said, getting her attention "She spoke to me for a minute or two, before running off on her own."

The girl simply sighed in response.

"From the way you spoke to her a while ago." I told her "I assume she's a relative of yours."

"You're not wrong." She spoke up "Me and my twin, we haven't seen each other in years."

She was her twin? Then I guess that explains why they looked almost identical.

"She said her name is Kiara, but didn't say her surname." I said, looking at her.

"It makes sense, she doesn't want anything to do with my family." The girl spoke up again "At least, until I can do something to change her mind."

Even after being yelled at by her sister, she's still determined to try and get to her. At least, she still has her twin while I already lost mine.

Shaking my head slightly, I asked "What's your name?"

The girl looked at me for a while, before responding "Blake Belladonna"

For a moment, I noticed her bow twitch upon introducing herself. Weird. Bows don't twitch, unless ...

"You're a faunus like your sister, aren't you?" I asked, my brows furrowing.

Blake sighed in response, looking away slightly "You got me." she admitted "Unlike her, I hide my faunus heritage."

It made some sense, some faunus would be willing enough to hide their traits to avoid getting discriminated by humans.

"Well, I wish you good luck to making amends with your sister." It felt right to simply leave her alone "Even if it would take the entire school year." I don't know why I let those words come out of my mouth.

"I just hope it won't take that long." She muttered to herself.

Truly, I wish her the best of luck with her current problem involving her sister.

 _*ANOTHER SMALL TIMESKIP*_

I don't know how much time has passed right now. Hopefully, I would be able to find a place where I can train by myself.

"HAHAHAHA!" I hear laughing from where I'm currently standing.

Raising an eyebrow, I walk towards the source of said laughing. As I did, I saw two boys. One was laughing as he clutched his sides, while the other was clutching himself in the privates and groaning in pain. As soon as I found both of them, I quickly made my way to hide behind a nearby tree. All set in my hiding spot, I looked over to the two boys again.

I was more curious of the one laughing.

The boy has spiked reddish purple hair, dark brown eyes and has slightly tanned skin. He had a slightly muscular physique while remaining thin, and his height was that he was over six feet tall that would tower over Shun's height, since his almost reached six feet.

He wore a dark brown leather overcoat that nearly reaches his ankles, underneath he wears a light purple dress shirt that's tucked in, black leather pants with a brown leather belt tied around them, and light brown leather shoes with black socks. He is carrying a rather large double-edged greatsword on his back with a maroon brown strap to keep it from falling.

Then I looked over to the one holding his privates.

He has burnt-orange hair that is combed backward with a slight peak at the front, indigo eyes and has fair skin, in comparison to the first one. He also has a muscular physique, but is slightly bulky, compared to the other boy's thinness as well as being almost the same height as he is an inch shorter.

The boy wore silver-gray armor with a gold trim. The chestplate sports a bird with its wings outstretched. Underneath the armor, he wears a black shirt with red trimmings and black pants with a red belt tied around his waist.

Interestingly, the second one seemed to be glaring murderously at the first.

"Stop laughing, you bastard!" The second boy hissed "That freak is really going to get it for stepping on my balls!"

"That's why it's fucking hilarious!" The first boy howled in laughter "You got fucked up by a chick and a faunus!"

The second boy growled in response.

So he's the one that tried to discriminate Miyazaki, and probably Lily, if she gets harmed by the same person.

"Yo!" The first one called out to me, much to my surprise "What are ya hiding for, little lady!?"

He probably called me that, since I'm much shorter than him.

I slowly come out of my hiding spot as I approached the two boys.

"So?" He gave me a wide grin "What's your name, little girl?"

My eyebrow twitched at that name "Please don't call me that." I responded coldly, surprising him.

"Whoa!" He raises his arms in a placating manner "Easy there, I was just messin' around!" he places his arms down "No need to be so damn cold about it."

"Ruby Rose." I introduced myself in a sharp yet even tone.

"So that's your name, huh?" The boy said before smiling "The name's Ryoma Yukimura, nice to fuckin' meet ya!"

According to the book I read back at Patch, the name Ryoma should mean "dragon" or "horse", while Yukimura means "blessing, fortune, happiness" or "town, village".

I sighed tiredly, at least he's friendly.

"Excuse me!" Both of us turn to see the second boy, who glared at us "I'm here too, you know!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Ryoma waved his hand dismissively "The bastard's name is Cardin Winchester, got it?"

"Hey!" We ignored his indignant shout.

"I have a question, Ryoma" I said, getting his attention.

"Sure what's up?" He said, crossing his arms.

"He tried to discriminate against a faunus, correct?" I asked as my brows furrowed.

"Yeah, and he totally pulled some little girl's rabbit ears." The boy answered, looking at Cardin "Before you ask, I did not join the shit he's doing, alright?"

"Good." I mutter under my breath, as I walked towards the boy.

He notices me, before frowning "What do you want?"

"Congratulations!" I put on a fake sweet smile "A girl is going to touch your privates again!"

With that out of the way, I immediately did a hard kick on the boy's family jewels, his eyes nearly pop out of their sockets as he falls down and curls on the ground in pain.

"What is it with girls kicking my balls?" He wheezed as he held on to his privates, like they were a lifeline.

I made sure to convert my aura into that kick, to ensure that the boy's aura would not heal that pain for hours.

"HAHAHAHA!" I heard Ryoma laugh behind me "Dude, a girl kicked you in the balls, again!"

"S-Shut up." Cardin weakly said, still on the ground.

"Initiation isn't until tomorrow." I said curtly, walking past him "You can bring him to the infirmary, if he needs the treatment."

The boy smirked "You got some serious guts, like that faunus chick."

"You're not a racist, right?" I asked coolly, not looking at him.

"Hell no." He answered quickly "I ain't like those racist bastards that treat those faunus like shit."

"That's good to hear." I close my eyes as I walked away from the two.

Despite the very short interaction, Ryoma is the kind of person that one would hang out and/or joke around with.

 _*TIMESKIP (EVENING)*_

Everyone was gathered ballroom to rest for the night. True to what Professor Goodwitch had said during the entrance ceremony, all of us were going to sleep in our combat gear.

"This sucks" I heard Cardin say from fifteen meters "It hasn't been a full day yet, and I'm already sent to the infirmary because a couple of bitches kicked my balls."

I decided to find an empty spot all to myself, only to find Kiyoshi occupying said spot.

The boy looked up from his scroll and said "You can sleep here next to me, if you would like to?"

"Oh." I'm surprised he's willing to share a spot, but I'm feeling sleepy right now so I respond with "Thank you."

He nodded, as I sat on the floor against the wall. I turn to him and I noticed something different about his attire.

Kiyoshi was still wearing the clothes he wore earlier, but he includes a dark gray overcoat that also reached over his knees and a black belt tied around his jeans with a silver buckle, as well as his sneakers being replaced with black combat boots. I also some white circles on the center of his gloves which I assume would hold some aura infused strings.

Maybe I should talk to him.

"Hey Kiyoshi." I said, getting his attention though he's still has his eyes on his scroll "Can I ask you a question?"

"I'm listening." He responded quietly.

"How did you get here to Beacon, before all of us did?" I questioned, bringing my knees close to my chest.

That question got him to look at me. Though, his yellow eyes are mesmerizing up close despite the expression he had on his face. It felt really awkward with him staring at me intently, and I actually feel some heat going to my cheeks the longer I keep staring at his eyes.

He then lets out sigh, before tucking his scroll away in his pocket.

"I was invited by Professor Ozpin himself." Kiyoshi answered, closing his eyes.

Huh, so he was invited by the headmaster to attend Beacon Academy too.

"How old are you?" I asked curiously.

"I am fifteen years of age." He answered, opening his eyes "I was born in August."

He's the same age as me, though he's older than me by a few months, since I was born on October.

"I guess both of us are the same then." I said, staring at all of the other students.

"I take it you are the same age as me." The white-haired boy said "As well as being invited by Ozpin personally."

"Yeah." I nodded in response.

Kiyoshi and Miyazaki, both have poker faces as their default expressions, but they are not as cold as one thought they would be, if one would truly get to know them.

I had two interactions with the former and a single one with the latter, yet I feel some sort of connection to them due to their additional loner-type personalities, except that I would try and expose myself to others while they are content with being separated from everyone else.

Admittedly, I was just like them when I was at Signal Academy, even with Luke being my only friend. Hopefully, my time here in Beacon would give me all the time I need to get to know them even better.

I yawned, my sleepiness beginning to overtake me.

"Feeling sleepy?" Kiyoshi asked, looking at me.

I simply nodded in response.

"Then go to sleep." He said, pulling out his scroll "I have some things I need to do with my scroll."

His scroll? I wonder what was so important inside that scroll of his?

But, I needed to get some sleep right now, so I laid on the floor using a pillow I had brought with me from Patch.

At the end of the day, I made another friend. That friend was Kiyoshi Nakamura, though I don't know if he felt that way in return.

Closing my eyes, I drifted into another dream that I would soon forget in the morning.

* * *

All she can feel is cold hard metal.

She couldn't feel the other's presence.

Most of all, she can only feel someone else's voice entering her head as she began to stir from her rested state.

Loud beeping sounds are heard, causing Ruby to snap her eyes open in alarm.

"Huh?" Is all what she can say, once she gets a good look at her surroundings.

No longer was she in the ballroom with other students, instead she was inside a medium-sized boxed room of sorts. Every part of the room is metal, even with windows facing each other in opposite sides, they were sealed in metal plates.

"Students, we will be arriving in thirty minutes!" A voice called from the speakers "Initiation will officially begin once we reach our destination!"

 _"Is this the special surprise?"_ The girl thought to herself.

 **To be continued ...**

 **Okay, this chapter had been a pain to write. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! The next one will truly be the beginning of the Initiation Arc, I hope you guys stick around for more!**

 **Introducing OCs: Shun, Miyazaki, Kiara and Ryoma**

 **Next Chapter: Initiation Begins**


	6. C5: Initiation Begins (Part 1)

_**Alright people! I have another update, up and running! I hope the previous chapter was good for you guys. Let's go!**_

 _ **PS: This chapter will have multiple 1st Person POV, so expect both OCs and canon characters having their own POV. Furthermore, this chapter will be divided into two parts.**_

 _ **Happy reading! :D**_

 **Ruby**

All I can feel is cold hard metal.

I couldn't feel the other student's presence.

Most of all, I can only feel someone else's voice entering my head as I began to stir from my rested state.

Loud beeping rang in my ears, causing me to snap my eyes open in alarm.

"Huh?" Is all I can say, once I get a good look at my surroundings.

I'm no longer in the ballroom with all the other students, instead I'm inside a medium-sized boxed room of sorts. Every part of the room is metal, even with windows facing each other in opposite sides, they were sealed in metal plates.

"Students, we will be arriving in thirty minutes!" A voice called from the speakers "Initiation will officially begin once we reach our destination!"

 _"Is this the special surprise?"_ I thought to myself.

I take another look at my surroundings, before shaking my head.

 _"The professors must have moved us, while we were asleep."_ I mused, cupping my chin thoughtfully.

Taking one last look around, I slowly stood up on my own.

Standing up, I walk around slightly to get an even better sense of where I am. While I look around, I had just noticed that my wrists already have my pistols in gauntlet form, as well as my other two weapons right behind where I had awoken.

 _"Initiation starts in thirty minutes, I should prepare myself in advance."_ I walked over to my weapons and picked them up. My twin blades were in their sheaths and they were attached to a leather black belt. The katana's sheath has a small vertical black strap that would allow me to carry it around on my back, without having to carry it all the time.

Almost immediately, I tie the belt around my skirt and strapped the sheath to my back, over my coat.

Thank goodness, I kept it on even before sleeping.

With everything set, I lean against the walls, patiently waiting for further instructions from the teachers.

* * *

 **Jaune**

Ugh, again with the airship!?

The reason why I think I'm in an airship, is because I'm already feeling sick again.

I hope the professors already know about my motion sickness.

Of all the ways initiation would be, it had to be like this!?

"I don't even know anyone here, besides that girl from earlier." I mustered enough strength to utter those words.

Now I really wish I got that girl's name!

Hopefully, I'd run into her once we reach whatever we're going to.

* * *

 **Weiss**

"I demand an explanation for all of this!?" I snapped angrily.

Waking up in an airship all by myself is not something I could have predicted whatsoever.

The professors better have a reasonable explanation for all of this!

I certainly hope that Ezra fares better than me in a place like this.

Looking over to my waist, I have Myrtenaster all ready and set for the initiation.

Sighing tiredly, I decided to sit down and contemplate what to do after we reach our destination.

 _"Furthermore, ..."_ My thoughts drifted _"... I hope to get Ezra as a partner in this initiation."_

I never bothered to socialize with any of the other students, apart from my early interaction with Ruby.

Ruby herself is also a good candidate for a potential partner.

But, I'll still cross my fingers and hope it ends up being Ezra.

* * *

 **Blake**

I honestly thought this day could not get any worse.

First, I run into Kiara, my sister that I've never heard from ever since we were around eight.

Second, someone already finds out about my faunus heritage, though I'm glad she didn't discriminate me for it.

Third, I wake up in a room with no exits.

 _"I wonder if Kiara would ever forgive me for leaving her."_ I thought sadly to myself.

I hope both of us are in the same team, so I can try and reach out to her.

Grimacing slightly, I can only imagine how alone she was when I left to join The White Fang.

* * *

 **Pyrrha**

In all honesty, I certainly did not expect an initiation like this.

But an initiation is still an initiation.

Getting a partner is one of the first steps to forming a team.

But I hope it would be someone that has no knowledge of my reputation.

After all, I want to be treated as 'Pyrrha Nikos', instead of the 'Invincible Girl'.

I want to feel what it's like to be treated normally.

However, I must push those thoughts away at the moment, all of us are on our way to initiation in twenty-five minutes.

 _"I hope, I find a partner that treats me normally."_ I thought to myself, bringing my knees to my chest as I sit down.

* * *

 **Nora**

"Ren!" I called out to my bestest friend "REN!"

This is so boring!

Me and Ren are definitely not together-together! I mean it would be so weird, right?

"I know!" I pick up my hammer, and smashed it against the walls.

The walls aren't even dented, it didn't work!

Dang, Beacon does a great job at watching out for my strength.

But I won't give up, ya hear me!

I raised my hammer again, and smashed it against the walls again.

I will not lose against you, wall!

* * *

 **Ren**

Wherever Nora is right now, I hope she doesn't try to smash up the same kind of room.

This is certainly different than most initiations in Beacon.

But all I can hope right now that Nora would have some patience.

"Mother, Father ..." I trailed off "... I will avenge you both."

Even to this day, I still think about them no matter how much time I spent with Nora.

I will avenge my village, and slay the Nuckelavee.

 _"I swear it on to my very soul."_ I closed my eyes as I meditated to pass the time.

* * *

 **Ezra**

This is certainly an interesting turn of events.

I would be lying if I said I'm not surprised by any of this.

Hopefully, Weiss should stay calm and analyze the situation she's in.

Sighing, I decided to prepare myself despite the amount of time remaining.

But it wouldn't be wrong to stay on your guard if the surprise is anything but favorable, right?

 _"However, ..."_ I mused to myself _"... I hope Weiss would get a different partner."_

I wouldn't stay with her forever, she needs to learn not to rely on me, all the time.

Hopefully, Miss Rose would be a suitable partner for her, since that girl is the only one she has interacted with.

* * *

 **Lily**

Eek! I'm trapped!

Plus, I'm all alone all by myself!

I clutch my book close to my chest, as I fell to the floor, landing on my bottom.

At least I packed my dust satchel, along with my book of dust spells.

Back where I'm from, I was a skilled dust manipulator and conjurer, with the help of my semblance.

Unfortunately, that meant my aura would never heal any bruises or any harmless physical injury. My aura would only heal slash wounds, stab wounds, and basically any wound or injury that causes massive bleeding.

This was why my ear never healed when it was being pulled.

But one person was kind enough to heal it with their aura.

That person was none other than Ruby Rose.

Ruby, the very first friend I make in this school and in my entire life.

I grew up with a friendless background, lots of kids bullied me for my rabbit ears.

My response? I shut myself away from the outside.

But it had some good sides, like discovering my skill in utilizing dust and my semblance.

The down sides, was that peoples' reaction to my talent were less than satisfying.

I shake my head before my thoughts would get even more distracting.

 _"Fifteen minutes left to go."_ I said inside my head.

* * *

 **Miyazaki**

Not what I would've expected, but I assume no one would in a school like this.

 _"It's not like I would underestimate the professors."_ I thought, as I lean against the walls _"If they planned something like this while we were all asleep, then it would prove that they have years of experience by their side."_

I began thinking back to what I was doing earlier.

The girl, her name was Ruby Rose. She seems the be quite unused to the circumstances she is in.

Unbeknownst to her, both of us are actually the same age. I had quite the mature appearance, but I am without a doubt fifteen years of age.

I was merely scouted by some old huntsman, to which he recommended me to the headmaster of Beacon Academy about my skills and potential.

 _"Even to this day, I still have no clue as to how he managed to convince Ozpin to enroll me in this school."_ I cupped my chin in thought, as my wolf ears twitched slightly.

Perhaps I'll never know, since he quickly left for another mission afterwards.

My current motivation right now was to find a trustworthy partner.

Ruby was more than trustworthy in my eyes.

I clenched my hands into fists, as soon as my thoughts came to _them._

 _"I don't care how long it takes."_ I thought determinedly _"I will eliminate them, and bring justice to the faunus."_

* * *

 **Kiyoshi**

I expected that the old man had some tricks up his sleeve, if he's managed to move us into our own mini airship.

There was one airship for each student, which is the explanation for the medium-sized boxed room I am currently inside of.

Sighing, I believe it would be too considerate if Ozpin was actually going to keep his word about the initiation from the speakers.

I expect that he would catch most of us by surprise if the airships were two thousand feet in the air. Afterwards, he would drop us into our destination, so that we would come up with a landing strategy.

Honestly, I would have preferred that it would be seven hundred feet in the air instead. I believe there are some students incapable of thinking in such a scenario.

 _"The girl."_ My thoughts were now on the girl I had to spoken to before she fell asleep _"I can sense that she has an aura powerful enough for two semblances."_

Ruby Rose, she was a girl that didn't hesitate to speak to me when she was lost in campus.

Afterwards, I continued on with my day without any trouble.

Until, we meet each other again. Only this time, she asked me questions. I provided with somewhat simple answers, but it was obvious to me that she most likely felt my aura.

I could sense that those thoughts never crossed her mind, while she was speaking to me.

All of the sudden, beeping noises would be heard.

"Students!" The same voice came from the speakers "Please step in the red square and prepare your combat gear!"

It was now time to prove who is most worthy to become a hunter.

* * *

 **Ruby**

I stand in the red square and awaited further instructions.

As I waited, I checked my weapons one last time, as well as adjusting my tie and coat.

"Initiation will begin in ten seconds!"

Out of reflex, I immediately clutched the hilt of my blade.

"Nine!"

This is it.

"Eight!"

The test to prove a hunter's worth.

"Seven!"

I narrowed my eyes.

"Six!"

This is what Yang would've done ...

"Five!"

... if she was in this academy.

"Four!"

Loud engines can heard, making it obvious that I was in an airship.

"Three!"

If I'm in an airship.

"Two!"

Then I don't sense the others' close presence.

"One!"

Did that mean-

I was interrupted as the red square I was standing on, suddenly splits in two. Afterwards, I am in suddenly two-thousand feet in the air.

Time seemed to slow down for me as I fell.

 _"I'm inside an airship that waited, until I unknowingly stepped on the area where I would be dropped out of said airship"_ I deduced in my head, as I continued falling.

"MOMMY!" A scream from one of the students rung in my ear despite the distances.

That sound reverberated in my head, as I stared numbly at the airship I was dropped out of.

 _"MOMMY!"_ That scream brought back old memories.

Memories that I tried to lock away.

All I can do, is close my eyes in an attempt to block out said memories.

 **To be continued ...**

 **Welp! This is where I stop for now! Please leave a review after reading this chapter and tell me what you think!**

 **Next Chapter: Initiation Begins (Part 2)**


	7. C5: Initiation Begins (Part 2)

_**I'm just gonna go straight into the chapter ;p**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

 **Emerald Forest**

Voices rang inside her head, as she desperately tried to block out her memories.

But it was all futile when her childhood memories resurfaced into her mind.

 _"Stop! Stop putting dirt on her please!"_ A young voice shouted in her thoughts _"But mommy said she had to go to work."_

The memories were slightly jumbled, so the voices were mixed and unorganized.

 _"I love you mommy."_ She tried to block them out _"I want to become a huntress, just like mommy!"_

 _"Stop it."_ Ruby mentally berated herself.

 _"Mommy ... please don't go."_

 _"SHUT UP!"_ The girl felt the urge to clutch her head in anger and confusion.

 _"Ruby!"_ A voice shouted in her head, snapping the crimsonette from her daze.

"Huh?" Was all she said outwardly.

 _"No need to thank me, Rubes."_ said a familiar voice in her thoughts _"That's what friends are for, right?"_

"Shun." Ruby said in a quiet voice.

 _"My semblance will work regardless of how far you're away from me."_ The girl could feel him smirking at her direction _"I'll see you in the Emerald Forest."_

With him severing their mental connection, she widens her eyes in realization.

 _"I'm now a thousand feet away from splattering on the ground."_ She scolded herself for letting her memories and emotions take over.

Ruby looked around, before flipping over to a position where she is falling down face first with her body straightened, except that she was free falling. She narrows her eyes in concentration as she allowed gravity to pull her down a little longer.

* * *

 **Ozpin's Office**

To say Ozpin was amused was an understatement.

He was downright smiling at the students as they come up with various landing strategies.

 _"Mr. Nakamura is taking it all in stride, as usual."_ He mused as the footage of his scroll showed Kiyoshi falling down in a position where he would land using his legs, all with a disinterested expression.

"Headmaster, do you realize how much Lien you spent in preparing this kind of initiation?" Glynda questioned, entering Ozpin's office.

The man smiled wryly in response "I am aware of what I did, Glynda."

She merely sighed in response "To think, you would start the initiation at precisely twelve o' clock midnight."

"Well, it is technically tomorrow, is it not?" Ozpin smiled.

"I see your point, but ..." The blonde professor trailed off.

"Glynda, the students will be fine." Another voice said as they stepped inside the office "They have to learn how to adapt to these kind of scenarios, whether they like it or not."

"Ah, Mr. Hayashi what a pleasant surprise." The headmaster smiled upon seeing one of Beacon's alumni.

The source of the voice smirked as they came into view "It's been a while, Professor Ozpin." they turned to Glynda "Hello Professor Goodwitch, it's nice to see that things haven't changed much since I graduated, along with my team."

"It is certainly a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Hayashi." She offered a rare smile.

The former Beacon student chuckled "Honestly, I'm not a student anymore, right?" they looked at the headmaster at his desk "I believe calling me by my first name should be enough."

Ozpin smiled as he said "I suppose that's fair, Kyosuke."

The third person in the office was male, and his name was Kyosuke Hayashi.

Kyosuke has dark brown messy hair, hazel colored eyes and has a slightly tanned complexion. He has a lean build while retaining his slimness, his height was at the same level as Ozpin's, and he was in his early twenties.

He was wearing a black trench coat over a black suit and tie, with a dark gray dress shirt underneath and wears black combat boots with his pants' legs tucked in inside each one. The former student is carrying a katana blade concealed by a bulky mechanical sheath.

"You should know why I'm here now, old man." Kyosuke smiled wryly.

"Indeed I do." Ozpin laced his hands together "You will be teaching the first year hunters-in-training, correct?"

Hayashi nodded, as he smiled "I will be looking forward to working with these kids."

"Now then, let us observe how the students will adapt to their current situation, shall we?" The headmaster said as he, Glynda, and the newly hired Kyosuke watched the events on his scroll.

* * *

 **Emerald Forest**

Ruby concentrated on the ground as it slowly grew bigger with the help of gravity.

 _"I'm getting close now."_ She mused as her aura begins to flare.

Meanwhile, other students are dealing with their situations with different reactions.

Miyazaki was also free falling, but she bends her legs slightly and has her arms stretched out both ways.

Shun was laughing nervously as he tried to find a way to land safely.

Lily was surprisingly calm and collected as she prepared some conjuration spells from her dust spellbook.

Ryoma was grinning wildly as he whooped while getting his sword ready.

Kiara adopts a serious expression as she takes off her jacket and ties it around her waist, and then rolls up the sleeves of her dress shirt, revealing metallic arms as she takes off her gloves as well.

Kiyoshi is completely unfazed and has a disinterested expression as he is in a position where he lands with his legs, with his hands in his pockets.

Ezra narrows his eyes in focus as he unsheathes his sword as it began to spark electricity.

... and that was it.

There was no other student other than the eight.

Which meant one thing, where are all the other students?

* * *

 **Ozpin's Office**

"I see you're switching it up this year." Kyosuke said, cupping his chin thoughtfully.

"The other students' initiations will take place in other places." Ozpin said as he stood up "For instance, eight students will have their initiation in Forever Fall, while eight more students will have theirs in Mt. Glenn."

Glynda simply sighed in exasperation, upon hearing the headmaster's words.

"So, who are the eight students for Forever Fall?" The former Beacon student asked.

The headmaster quickly changed the content inside the scroll and answered "Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Cardin Winchester, Russel Thrush, Magnar Pedersen, Sky Lark, Cayden Walsh, and Dove Bronzewing."

* * *

 **Forever Fall**

Like the students falling into Emerald Forest, the students were also dropped from the airships into Forever Fall.

All with different reactions.

Weiss screamed at first, but then calms down and uses her glyphs to cushion her fall.

Blake remained composed as she opted to free fall for a small while.

Cardin, Russel, Dove and Sky were all simply screaming upon being dropped from such a long height.

Two more students were also falling, but both were calm and relatively unfazed by the situation they're in.

The first student's name was Cayden Walsh and their gender is male.

Cayden has short messy light silver hair with bangs that cover his right eye and has a pair of wolf ears on his head, has dark gray eyes and has a tanned complexion. He has a lean build and his height reaches over six feet.

He wears a dark red trench coat over black body armor which consisted of a black tight and sleeveless shirt with sliver accents and a metal plate on his collar, and black pants that had two black straps on his thighs, and another two strapped around his shins separate from each other, and black metal plated shoes, which appear to be attached to his trousers. He also wears black fingerless gloves, and has a metallic black bow and a small quiver of arrows on his back.

The boy's eyes narrowed as he grabbed the bow from his back. Afterwards, he draws a long arrow tied with an aura infused string. He pulls back the arrow and releases it, therefore creating a mini-grappling hook. He was internally thankful for his faunus night vision.

Activating his aura, he quickly grabs the string as it immediately pulls him quickly to one of the trees.

Meanwhile, the second student's name was Magnar Pedersen and their gender is male.

Magnar has red hair styled into a small mohawk with bull horns located at the sides of his head and a small goatee, green eyes and has a slightly fair complexion. He has a very muscular physique and his height completely towers over the other students as he reached seven feet in height, as well as the large body size, giving him the appearance of a grown man.

He wears a large bronze chestplate over a white tank top with bronze spaulders, black pants with pieces of armor, and gray sandals. He also wears a green colored pendant around his neck, and carries a large greatsword on his back.

The bulky teen's eyes were focused on Blake as she is still falling without any form of landing strategy.

 _"The girl will be paste on the ground, if I don't help her."_ He thought as focused his aura onto his legs.

Activating his aura, Magnar produces a short burst of aura from his legs with the intention of reaching out to the raven-haired girl.

"What the!?" Blake herself was surprised that he quickly grabs her and puts her on his back.

"Hang on lass!" His voice boomed in her eardrums "This is will be a rough landing!"

The hidden faunus didn't need to say anything as she closed her eyes and clung on to the bull faunus' back like no tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Weiss managed to land safely with the help of her semblance as she used one of her gylphs as a platform.

 _"Did the headmaster truly went this far, to simply test us."_ The heiress mused, before screaming voices get her attention.

She looked up and around as she saw Cardin, Russel, Dove and Sky all screaming as they were heading closer to the ground, they will no doubt die upon hitting the ground, much to her slight dismay.

 _"Just what did they expect in an academy like this."_ She thought, as she wordlessly used a time-dilation glyph to slow down their fall, each glyph in their area of landing. Afterwards, she got the expected results as they managed to land with some slight bruises and injuries.

"That should do it." Weiss mused out loud.

"Looks like we're partners, then." A voice calls out, getting Weiss' attention.

She turned around to see Cayden standing on a branch as he laid against a tree, with a bored expression.

 _"Wait a second, is that-"_ The white-haired girl's eyes widened in shock.

However, her thoughts were cut off as a loud crash can be heard seven meters away from where she's standing.

A medium-sized crater can be seen as Magnar landed on the ground using his feet, with Blake clinging on to his back with an extremely terrified expression as her eyes were widened in fear and her entire body was shivering.

Weiss was too stunned by the unexpected entrance to actually care about the two students as they stepped out of the crater.

The silver haired faunus sighed "Looks like all four of us are a team already." he muttered quietly.

* * *

 **Emerald Forest**

 _"Wait for it."_

Ruby concentrates more on the ground as it was getting closer to her vision, her aura steadily growing bigger as she was getting closer and closer to landing.

 _"Now!"_ She channels her aura into her right hand as it slowly forms a rope.

The girl flips onto a normal position as she swings her right arm forward as the aura rope from her hand move to bind themselves against a branch in a nearby tree from her control.

She narrows her eyes as she swings her hand backwards as she is pulled towards the tree. As she gets even close to where the rope attached itself to, the aura rope itself slowly shortens itself.

Ruby uses her left hand to grab onto the branch as the aura rope disappears, she uses her right hand to grab onto the branch as well. Sighing, she pulls herself up as she slowly but surely sat on the branch.

The crimsonette used this time to collect herself and observe her surroundings.

 _"Judging from the amount of darkness out here, it's around midnight."_ She deduced as she tried to figure out how to navigate through the seemingly dark forest.

Meanwhile, other students have found their way of landing.

Ezra's sword sparked electricity as the amount of aura used on his body, transforms it into a more advanced and modern version of a knight's armor, except it lacked a helmet.

Upon landing, the armor leaves a small crater on the ground before his aura reverts it back to a sword.

Lily creates a large glyph using both dust and her own aura, the glyph slows down her falling as it was located at where she is supposed to land.

Kiara's right arm is replaced by a long chain as she uses it to on a nearby tree, and applies the same tactic Ruby used when getting close to said tree.

Ryoma's aura glowed a celestial sky blue as transfers it to his sword, he then swing his sword, as it released strong winds that soften the gravity that is quickly pulling him to the ground.

Afterwards, he lands safely without any problems.

"No sweat." The boy grinned as he began to explore the already dark forest.

Kiyoshi releases his hands from his pockets as he uses his aura to conjure chains on top of his hands and fingers. He uses his chains on two trees as he pulled himself closer to them, until he suddenly stops and seemingly hangs, as his arms are raised up sideways as the chains attach themselves to trees that are at his sides.

Letting out a bored sigh, he let himself slowly down onto the ground as he uses his aura to extend his chains, before his feet finally touch the solid ground.

 _"That man surely knows how to surprise us."_ He mused as he began walking forward with his hands in his pockets again, as his chains disappear.

Miyazaki's hands had an icy blue glow as she activates her semblance.

She produces a snowy ground with the cold winds slowing down her fall. Her aura produces a small ice dagger, before she throws it on a nearby Beowolf.

 _"I should probably go find-"_ Her thoughts were cut off by screaming.

The white-haired faunus decided to halt in her search for Ruby, as she quickly ran to the source of said screaming. Due to being a faunus, she uses her night vision to navigate through the forest, before finally arriving to where the screams are coming from.

 _"Where is that screaming coming from?"_ The girl thought, before more screaming is heard, but it came from above.

Looking up, Yukino sees Shun as he is still falling and is about to hit the ground, all while screaming loudly.

 _"So much for having Ruby as a partner."_ She sighed as she uses her semblance to create an ice slide that leads to a large pile of snow that she also created.

The brown-haired boy manages to land on the slide, before the pile of snow cushions his overall landing.

"Ugh." He groaned as he crawled out of the snow pile.

"Your welcome." Miyazaki said, crossing her arms as she stared at him.

Shun grinned sheepishly at her "I guess we're partners."

 _"I might as well give him a chance."_ She mused before turning around "Do you plan on staying on the ground?"

The boy responded by immediately standing up and following her, as both of them began exploring the dark forest.

* * *

 **Ozpin's Office**

"Looks like those two are partners." Kyosuke said looking at the footage "Even though these kids are unaware of how they're made this year."

"Indeed they are." Ozpin nodded in agreement "However, I will still notify them of how they will be partnered up."

"So, anything on the students sent to Mt. Glenn?" He asked, crossing his arms "Any names I should know?"

The headmaster changed the contents of his scroll again and read "Jaune Arc, Shizuka Aoki, Valerie Stark, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, Ajax Silver, Pyrrha Nikos and Riley White." he smiled "I believe they are the last of the first-year students."

"That makes twenty-four new kids to prepare themselves to protect the people." The Beacon alumnus adopted a serious expression "But for us, to protect them from the likes of _her_." he hissed at the last word.

Glynda could sense that the young man felt protective of the new students, even if he hadn't met them personally.

"I can understand your distaste for preparing them against such a threat." Ozpin said calmly.

"That's just scratching the surface." Kyosuke said stoically, before looking out one of the windows "I'll do whatever it takes to ensure these kids know what's really out there."

* * *

 **Mountain Glenn**

The students dropped into the ruined city had to come up with safer and less risky landing strategies, but they were still falling at exactly one-thousand feet.

All of them had different reactions as well.

Jaune was screaming hysterically to the point where he screamed 'Mommy' so loud, that it reached Beacon Academy where a certain silver-eyed girl heard it.

Those that heard his scream in the city of Vale were baffled at the loudness of it.

Pyrrha was devising multiple strategies in her mind while struggling to maintain her composure.

Nora was screaming happily at the amount of fun she's having.

Ren was already channeling his aura while keeping a cool head.

Four more students were also falling, but they also had different reactions.

There was one student was screaming in fear as they flailed their arms and legs around uncontrollably.

Their gender is female, and her name was Shizuka Aoki.

Shizuka has long sky blue hair tied into twin tails with spiked bangs swept to the right that is covered the hood she wears, has bright aqua blue eyes and has a pale complexion. She has a petite build with some slight curves, noticeably on her chest and waist.

She wears a black dress with a white accent and a three-layer ruffled skirt held with a big black belt with multiple studs and buckles to match her big collar as it covers her mouth. The chest, sleeves, and hood are blue, she also wears black fingerless gloves, and black boots with four belt straps on them and black thigh-high stockings. Her belt has two large pistols in their holsters and has a rather large dust rifle on her back attached by a leather strap.

"I don't want to die!" The blue-haired girl cried, tears already coming out of her eyes.

Unbeknownst to her, another student is making their way towards her with a serious and determined expression.

The student's appearance is highly androgynous, but is without a doubt male.

His name was Riley White.

Riley has long light gray hair that is tied into a ponytail with bangs that nearly covers his left eye, has dark blue eyes, and has a fair complexion. He has a petite build with a very effeminate face as he had some long eyelashes and soft eyes, but has some slight muscles on his arms and legs.

He is wearing a black suit and tie, with a white dress shirt underneath and wears black combat boots with his pants' legs tucked in inside each one. He also wears black gloves and has pink diamond dangling earrings on his ears.

"Someone please help-" Shizuka's cries were cut off, as the boy wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Hang on." He said in a mature and slightly feminine tone.

The girl nodded quickly in response as she wrapped her arms around his chest and buried her face in it.

Riley raised up his arm as his semblance created a small portal that appeared three feet above the solid ground, he temporarily lets go of the girl's waist for a short second to raise his other arm downwards he created another portal two feet below them.

He wrapped his arm around the girl's waist as he closed his eyes shut when they went through the portal below them.

Shizuka opens her eyes and notices that she is still clinging on to Riley's chest as they are on the ground already. The blue-haired girl blushes heavily as she immediately pulls away from him.

"I-I'm sorry for holding on to you like that!" She bowed politely, before facing him while her face is still red "T-Thank you for saving me!"

"No need to say anything." Riley responded calmly "I just did what I had to do."

"I-I guess we're partners then." Shizuka said timidly.

The feminine boy nodded in acknowledgement before standing up.

"Let's search for a place to rest." He said, looking at his surroundings "I have a feeling that initiation will truly begin in the morning."

"W-Wait for me!" The hooded girl stood up to follow him "Hold on, what's your name!?"

Riley stopped for in his tracks, before turning his head slightly over to her "Riley White, you?"

"S-Shizuka Aoki!" Shizuka introduced herself, while bowing politely.

"Alright then, Shizuka." The boy said before turning his head back to the path he was walking on "We should find cover for the night."

"R-Right!" The blue-haired girl said as she followed him.

Meanwhile, another student seemed to take their current situation in stride and their gender is male.

His name was Ajax Silver.

Ajax has messy black hair with a streak of white hair on his bangs, has light gray eyes and has a slightly fair complexion. He has a slightly lean build and his height nearly reaches six feet. He also had a huge black wolf tail, signifying that he was a wolf faunus.

He wears a black leather jacket over a white hoodie, gray jeans, and black leather boots with his pants' legs tucked in inside each one. He also carried a sheathed sword behind his back attached with a gray strap.

The boy looks around to see that no one's semblance would cushion their falls.

 _"It's hero time."_ He smirked, as his aura flared in his body.

After a few seconds, everyone's falling seemed to slow down for them.

Jaune finally stopped screaming as he decided to allow the slowed down gravity to take him down safely.

Pyrrha took this opportunity to regain what's left of her composure.

Nora pouted as her fun came to an end.

Ren used this chance to test out his current knowledge in aura by channeling it into his hand and creating a small rope from it.

Another student seemed to be put off by it at first, but is now at relative ease.

The black-haired boy smiled as his semblance was in effect, something that did not go unnoticed by Riley.

He narrowed his eyes as he activated his aura again, he raised his hand and created multiple portals below each falling student and raises his other hand sideways to create portals in different areas while they're three feet above the ground.

Seeing the boy's action, Ajax smirked and decided to deactivate his semblance which causes everyone to fall into the portals made by Riley.

"Is that your semblance?" Shizuka questioned quietly from behind.

The gray-haired boy didn't say anything but nodded his head in response to her question.

Meanwhile, Ajax hits the ground with a light thud before standing up and dusting himself off.

He then hears an audible groan as a nearby student proceeds to stand up on their own.

The student's gender was slightly hard to discern in the black-haired boy's eyes as they finally straightened their posture.

"Are you going to stare at me, or what?" The student asked in a very feminine tone.

"Sorry." Silver scratched the back of his head sheepishly "I just thought-"

"I'm a boy, correct?" They raised an raised as they walked towards him "Here."

They took his hand and placed it on their chest, causing the boy to look at them in confusion before flushing in embarrassment.

 _"She's a girl!?"_ He thought, shocked by this reveal.

"Yup, I'm a girl." She said, as if reading his thoughts.

"So ..." Ajax said awkwardly for a second "... what's your name?"

"My name is Valerie Stark." The student introduced herself "You are?"

"Ajax Silver." The boy responded in an awkward tone.

The student's gender was female, and their name was Valerie Stark.

Valerie has short spiked black hair with light blue streaks in various spots, has cold blue eyes and a fair complexion. Her physique was average at best with a barely noticeable bust in the clothes she wears.

Her attire consists of a black jacket with a cyan blue accent on the torso and several straps and accents of silver. The coat tails have sky blue coloring on the inside, while her sleeve cuffs are rolled up to reveal white coloring and black lining. She wears a pair of denim pants with a single strap hanging from each hip, and around her neck is an indigo cloth held with an ornament. She also carried a sheathed sword around her hip.

"You sure came prepared." He smiled sheepishly.

"I always do." Valerie responded with a smirk.

Meanwhile, Jaune has landed near one of the ruins of the abandoned safe haven.

"Ugh, note to self." The blonde groaned as he stood up "Never be inside an airship, no matter what."

"I see that we are partners for this initiation." He turned around to see Pyrrha standing near one of the buildings.

 _"Maybe things will turn out for the better."_ Jaune thought as he felt somewhat safe around her presence.

"My name is Pyrrha Nikos." She smiled politely.

He smirked as he tried to 'flirt' with her "Hey there, the name's Jaune Arc." he clicked his tongue "Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, you know what I'm saying?"

The redhead merely chuckled in response to his introduction.

In one of the the ruins, Ren runs around the buildings, trying to get a better understanding of his surroundings.

"Oh, Ren~!" A voice chirped out from behind, prompting the boy to turn around, only to see Nora "Found you!"

The boy simply shook his head at his best friend's antics.

* * *

 **Emerald Forest**

 **Ruby**

Okay, this place was definitely dark and I can barely see a thing with all these trees covering the moon.

I left the tree I was in a few minutes ago, but I just realized how much of a bad idea that was since I'm now lost in the forest, with the moon being my only source of light.

A growl suddenly enters my ears as I turn to the source of said growling.

It was a Beowolf type Grimm.

The Grimm had a bone-like mask with red markings characteristic of most Grimm, as well as the bone-like spikes protruding from their arms, back, and knees. Their hands and feet are also tipped with long, sharp, white claws.

However, they can vary greatly in size, with the average one being the size of a human, but with larger Beowolves appearing that they can be more than twice as large.

A book about the creatures of Grimm was all it took for me to memorize their appearances.

I was already in a very open area where the moon's brightness is in, which meant that I had a lot of room to move for when it attacks.

Narrowing my eyes, I pulled out my blades and prepared myself to fight the Grimm for the first time.

The creature quickly lunged at me, but I ducked at the last second before I slashed at it's stomach with both blades.

Growling fiercely, the grimm charged at me again, but I immediately sidestepped it and bludgeoned it with the hilt of one of my blades.

I decided to test out my weapon's uses by running at the grimm as it regained it's bearings. It growled as it tried to swipe at me using it's claws, but I flipped over it before I landed and jumped sideways to throw my blades.

They managed to hit the Beowolf, but I only made it angrier.

 _"That's good."_ I thought as the creature charged at me again.

My response was that I jumped backwards at it swiped at me again. Just before the grimm would attack me again, my blades returned and they seemed to have cut through it, as it howled in pain.

The blades return to my hands, as I quickly took advantage of it's vulnerability to deliver quick and deadly slashes, which cracked it's mask slightly leaving a fatal opening.

It tried to attack me again, but I quickly jumped onto it's back and stabbed one of my blades through the small cracks on the grimm's mask. It howled in pain, but died afterwards.

Just when I thought I was safe, it only served to attract more of them.

From the bushes, three more Beowolves came out, but it only served to remind me of a specific memory.

 _*FLASHBACK*_

Three Beowolves were on our trails as Rune pulled me through the thick forest.

"Stay here." He told me as he found a secure hole for me to hide in.

"But Rune." I whimpered, but my brother smiled at me.

"I'll be fine." Rune told me in a reassuring tone "I'll just lead them in the wrong direction and come back to you afterwards."

I wasn't convinced by it, but complied regardless "Just please be safe."

"I will." My brother cupped my cheek and kissed me on the forehead as he ran towards the direction he was going to divert the Beowolves.

Little did I know that it was the main contributor to his death.

 _*END FLASHBACK*_

These Grimm ...

They killed him.

They're the ones responsible for his death.

They took him away from us.

They took him away from **me**.

I'll never forgive them.

They're going to pay for this!

My eyes narrowed dangerously as they tried to attack me all at once.

Big mistake.

I disappeared in a quick flash of rose petals as they all landed on me.

They all looked up to see me high up in the sky, as my shadow can be seen on the moon.

"Die." I said in an emotionless tone as I used my pistol-gauntlets at them.

I unleashed huge amounts of dust rounds on them as I descended on them, but with my accuracy towards distanced targets, I grazed them at best though I managed to inflict some great damage.

Despite the damage they sustained, they still attempted to kill me.

I pulled out my blades as I jumped in multiple directions as they all slashed me, but were all missing due to my speed and agility, and instead I slashed at them with every failed attempt to even scratch me.

Narrowing my eyes, I threw the blades again as I formed a bow and arrow using my aura.

I positioned it my aura formed bow sideways and three red arrows, as they were aimed at the spots each grimm were in.

They charge at me again, as I fired the arrows.

Before they would reach out to me, my blades returned and injured one of them as the arrows hit each of their masks. As a result, they are set on fire with the blades caught by my hands, just as I made the aura formed weapons disappear.

I looked around to see more of them coming out to attack me.

Staring at them with a cold expression, I decided to pull out my katana and prepared to strike at them.

* * *

 **Emerald Forest**

 **Kiyoshi**

This is certainly an interesting sight.

Ruby is doing a fairly impressive job at dispatching the Grimm before her.

However, I sense a deep hatred in her aura that is attracting a few more Beowolves to attack her.

Since I am notified in advance of Ozpin's rules in this initiation, I believe she and I will be partners for the next four years.

Activating my aura, I conjure aura-infused strings as I used my speed to set them around various areas where Ruby is fighting the Grimm.

One of which had been caught in my wires and is immediately sliced to pieces, despite it's bone-like armor.

I turn over to see a lone Beowolf slowly making it's way to slash at her from behind, while she is still distracted by the others. I quickly conjure a chain as I catch it before it would attack and dragged it towards where I'm standing.

More came out, but I made quick work of them by conjuring extremely sharp kunai knives and then precisely hitting each of them with some effort as I dodged their attacks while throwing each one at them as they did.

"Kiyoshi?" I turn around to see Ruby looking at me with a surprised expression.

Judging from the lack of blood on her clothes, she must have dodged every attack and dispatched them with her blade, while maintaining her distance.

"Hello Ruby." I responded casually "I assume that we are now partners for the next four years."

"At least I talked to you earlier." She voiced out her thoughts aloud.

I nodded in response before I gesture her to follow me "I have already set up a camp, I believe we should rest for the time being."

"Thanks, I am feeling a bit exhausted from my recent encounter." I heard her mutter the last part under her breath.

She has certainly gained my interest, the moment I felt her aura from our first meeting.

 **To be continued ...**

 **Introducing OCs: Kyosuke, Cayden, Magnar, Shizuka, Riley, Ajax and Valerie.**

 **Next Chapter: Forming Bonds**


	8. C6: Forming Bonds

_**Hello everyone! This chapter will mainly focus on character interactions again, as well as some new information on some of the OCs. Think of these interactions as Free Time Events between these characters as I continue to write them to the best of my abilities.**_

 _ **Happy reading!**_

 **Emerald Forest**

Ruby had to admit, she felt somewhat comfortable around her partner, despite how little she knew about him.

 _"I'm still glad I took the time to talk to him, before all of this happened."_ She thought as she continued to follow her new partner.

The girl looked around the forest and felt chills running down her spine _"This forest is really creepy when nighttime comes around."_ she thought, as she still looked around her current surroundings.

While, Ruby is preoccupied in her own thoughts. Kiyoshi took the time to think over the situation they are in.

 _"Ozpin has certainly promised that things would be different here in this academy."_ The boy mused thoughtfully.

He looked up slightly, as there was barely even a single light in the night sky _"It's a shame that there isn't anything to make this sky appealing to our eyes at this time."_ Kiyoshi then focused on his path again _"But it's better than being a mere puppet to those biased faunus."_

Looking at Ruby again, _"Perhaps, I should let her know a thing or two about myself."_ he thought.

Kiyoshi sees a light in a small distance, but he knew source of that very light.

"We're close." He said, getting the girl's attention.

"At least, we're getting some rest for this evening." Ruby sighed tiredly.

The boy nodded in agreement, feeling a bit of exhaustion himself.

"Attention students!" A voice called out from out of nowhere.

 _"Headmaster Ozpin?"_ She thought, looking around as she tried to determine where the voice was coming from.

 _"It's about time that he's finally announced it."_ Kiyoshi frowned at how the headmaster was waiting before making the announcement.

* * *

 **Ozpin's Office**

"Students, this will be your initiation." Ozpin looked at the ones inside the room with him, they nodded at him to continue.

"This year all of you will be tested in your assigned area," he continued "You will find relics that I have placed all over the said areas, all of you are free to explore the areas while you can, beware of the Grimm that wanders in the more dark areas," his tone became slightly darker "Otherwise, you will die."

The man breathed "Furthermore, partners will be decided once you come in contact with the first person you see." he closed his eyes "That will be all."

"You certainly love to make things hard for them, don't you?" A new voice came from the other side of the elevator after it opened its doors.

"Miss Himura." Glynda smiled as the person entered the office "It is a pleasure to see you again, especially after you graduated Beacon alongside Kyosuke and your fellow team members."

The person, Himura, smiled warmly as she made her way towards Kyosuke "I see that you will be teaching the freshman year, Hayashi-kun."

Kyosuke rolls his eyes as he smiled back in response "Your village's way of addressing others still baffles me to no end, Yuna."

Yuna stuck her tongue playfully at him "If it bothers you so much, then I'll just call you Kyosuke then."

"Fine by me." He shrugged, still smiling at her.

Like Kyosuke, Yuna Himura was also a Beacon Academy student until her graduation.

Yuna was a beautiful woman in her early twenties as her hair was scarlet red and was long and wavy, her eyes having an emerald green color, and her skin having the right amount of fairness. She appears rather fragile, but has a somewhat fit physique as well as being well-endowed in her own right.

She was wearing a white lab coat over a light pink sleeveless blouse, a dark blue pencil skirt, and gray flats with black stockings. The woman was also wearing a single white glove on her right hand.

However, the reason behind her fragility was due to being wheelchair-bound.

The redhead rolled towards the headmaster's desk as she smiled warmly at him "It's a pleasure to see you again, headmaster."

Ozpin smiled back at his former student "Hello Miss Himura, or should I say Yuna."

"My first name will be fine." Yuna nodded "You already know why I'm here, correct?"

"But of course, you will work as both the school nurse and the academy's medical teacher." The headmaster laced his hands together as he stared at the footage of his scroll again.

"The students are going through an initiation, right?" She asked, fondly remembering her years as a Beacon student.

"Indeed they are." Ozpin responded, before smiling wryly at the three staff members in front of him "They will be in a big surprise for what I have planned for them, once morning comes."

* * *

 **Emerald Forest**

The two students were in silence for a while after Ozpin finished his announcements.

"The headmaster certainly doesn't joke around." Ruby spoke up, breaking the silence as she looked at her partner.

"He doesn't." Kiyoshi said evenly, before turning to the direction of the fire "Let's go."

"Right." She followed him as they were heading towards the boy's camp.

 _*MEANWHILE*_

"Hello!" Lily called, already feeling scared "Hello!?"

 _"What if there's Grimm about to eat me."_ The rabbit faunus thought fearfully, already in tears.

"Please, is someone out there?" She called out again "Anyone!?"

 _"If Ruby already found a partner, then I don't know who I'll truly end up with."_ Her thoughts were on what Ozpin told them a while ago about the initiation they're in.

All of the sudden, there was a noise coming from the bushes.

Lily flinched as she was not ready to cast a dust spell and her semblance, so she prepared herself for the worst.

Out of nowhere, a tall figure emerges from the bushes, prompting her to slam her book onto their knee causing them to hiss in pain as they grabbed their knee.

The figure glared at her "What was that for, you bitch!"

"I'm so sorry!" The rabbit faunus immediately cowered in fear.

"Yeah, you better be-" They stopped themselves for a moment, before their eyes widen in both shock and surprise "Shit!"

Lily flinched at the curse, but is surprised that she isn't being yelled at anymore.

"What's wrong?" She asked quietly.

"I'm really sorry I snapped at ya like that!" The figure exclaimed, before putting a hand to their face "I promised myself that I wouldn't yell at girls anymore, and ... fuck!"

"Why do you act like you know me?" The girl asked, her brows furrowing.

The figure sighed as they moved closer out of the dark spot they're in, revealing that they're a boy "Remember the prick that pulled on your ears back at the airship."

In response, the faunus' eyes widened in fear as she stepped back "P-Please don't hurt me!"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" He held up their hands in surrender "I ain't gonna hurt ya, I'm not like that bastard."

"You won't?" Lily needed a confirmation.

"I ain't a fucking racist, that's for sure." The boy grinned, as he pointed a thumb at himself "The name's Ryoma Yukimura, nice to fuckin' meet ya!"

Sensing that he was being genuinely friendly, the rabbit faunus spoke up "Lily Scarlatina." she then bowed politely at the boy in front of her "I hope we get along for the next four years."

Ryoma simply grinned in response "I think we're gonna get along just fine, little partner."

 _"Oh right, we're partners now."_ Her thoughts were on the headmaster's announcements _"At least, he's not-"_

Lily's thoughts were cut off as the much taller boy decided to give her a piggyback ride.

"W-What are you doing!?" She exclaimed, embarrassed at being lifted up like that.

"Think of it as my way to apologize for yellin' at ya like that." He said softly, as he walked forward "I'll find us somewhere to sleep for the night."

"Oh, okay." The faunus said, trying to get comfortable on the boy's back.

The duo were in silence for a while, until Ryoma speaks up "You wanna talk about something?"

"Like what?" Lily said, tilting her head slightly as she held her book inside her coat.

"You know, like why we're here in Beacon and shit." He said casually "Since we're partners, we might as well get to know each other better."

"That's not a bad idea." She responded quietly.

"Anyway, what's the deal with you and bullies?" Ryoma asked curiously "I don't see why they'd harm someone like you."

 _"He's not wrong about the bullies part."_ The brown-haired girl thought, before speaking up "You're looking at my ears, that's why people would often pull them."

"Well that's bullshit." He muttered, that did not go unheard by Lily, but he spoke up again "I don't know why those bastards act shitty over somethin' minor like extra parts." the boy continued "In my opinion, I think the faunus are fucking cool with those parts, it gives them night vision with their eyes and big hearin' with their ears." he turned to the petite girl on his back "Hell, I'm actually jealous of those guys, but you win some, you lose some."

"You ... accept the faunus?" Lily hesitantly asked, needing a confirmation.

"Hell yeah I do!" Ryoma smiled before deciding to carry her bridal style, much to the girl's embarrassment "If ya ever see those assholes again, just tell me and I'll kick their asses."

"W-What!" She exclaimed in surprise as she shook her head "Y-You can't do that!" her tone lowered a bit "Even if they were mean to me, I wouldn't want to wish them any pain."

In response, the boy chuckled "I gotta admit, you're pretty damn nice and cute." he added the last part quietly.

 _*MEANWHILE*_

Ezra is navigating his way through the dark forest as his surroundings were eerily quiet.

 _"I must find a partner before dawn rises."_ The boy mused, before hearing a faint voice in the distance _"Surely, there must be someone out here without a partner."_

Without hesitation, he quickly headed over to the source of the said voice.

"Ugh!" Kiara pulls out her hand out of a Beowolf's skull, revealing a large spike attached to the wrist.

The sound of bushes quickly draws her attention as she quickly changes the spike and the entire hand into a gun as she pointed it at the source.

"Who's there?" She whispered loudly, trying to stay quiet.

"I mean you no harm, miss." Ezra comes out of the bushes, his hands raised in surrender "There is also the fact that we are now partners, according to the headmaster's announcement."

 _"At least he's not hostile, but to be on the safe side ..."_ Her thoughts trailed off as she spoke up "Why should I trust you, human?"

The boy was not affected at being addressed like that as he spoke again "I assure you I am not by any means racist."

"Why should I believe you?" Kiara's tone came out much harsher than she expected it too.

Ezra simply smiles in response "If I truly am racist, then I would've simply ignored you and searched for a different partner."

The faunus lowers her gun slowly, but was still not fully convinced.

"Look, I know that our kind has not treated yours very kindly, especially the SDC." He said, moving forward.

"Understatement of the year." She muttered under her breath.

"However, I am not that kind of person, it would go against everything I've been taught by my old mentor." The boy getting too close for her comfort, she flinched when he placed a hand on her shoulder "I won't hurt you, I can tell by your arms that you've been harmed greatly by other humans before."

Kiara widens her eyes at his observations, before they are shadowed by her bangs.

"Why?" She asked, getting the boy's attention "Why are you saying all of this?"

"What do you mean?" He said, already knowing the reason behind her words.

"Why are you saying all of this to me?" The faunus allowed her eyes to make contact with the boy in front of her "For all I know, you could be lying just to stab me from behind when I have my back turned."

Ezra smiled softly as his tone became warm and comforting "I know it's difficult for you to trust my kind, but there are many humans here that are against the faunus prejudice and discrimination."

"How do you know that?" The raven haired girl asked curiously.

"Unlike Weiss, I wandered around parts of the campus myself while she was tending to the dust." The boy explained "I met students that would willingly accept faunus in a very genuine and welcoming manner." he continued "This is also worth noting that the second year students had already accepted them from the get-go, only a few of the students here are biased, but I'm confident that you won't run into them anytime soon."

Kiara stayed silent, trying to process the new information given to her.

"I will not force you to trust me." Ezra said, turning around "After all, trust is something that should be earned."

Just as he is about to walk back into the forest, a voice stops him "Wait!"

He turns to see the girl suddenly grabbing his arm with her eyes covered by her bangs.

"I want to trust you!" She exclaimed "But, ... I can't bring myself to do that."

Ezra simply smiles in response "Then us being partners will fix that, along with earning the trust of our fellow first year students."

The cat faunus was silent for a second, before giving him a small smile saying "I'd like that."

 _*MEANWHILE*_

Miyazaki and Shun have been walking through the Emerald Forest for a couple of minutes, until the latter suggested that they should camp for the night, to which the former actually agrees.

The boy whistles as he places more sticks and twigs into the fire, as the white-haired girl took off her gloves and belt.

"So, ... what's your deal for coming here?" Fujimori asked, getting the girl's attention.

"What did you say?" She furrowed her brows, as she stared at the boy's relaxed expression.

"Well, ... I just thought we could share our reasons for being here, right?" Shun smiled as he sat down "Besides, we're partners now so we don't have to keep anything from each other."

Yukino scowled slightly "You say that, yet I sense that you are hiding something as well."

"What am I hiding then?" He asked curiously, though he secretly hoped that she was bluffing.

"Vale, or any of the Beacon staff may not be aware of this, but I know your status Shun Fujimori," The wolf faunus said in an even tone "You leave marks from every victim in your path."

"What makes you say that?" The boy said, straightening himself.

"Don't give me that bullshit, I know for a fact that you've been involved with the White Fang at some point." She said harshly "I don't know what your motives are for joining this school, but I have my eye on you."

Shun smirked as his bangs covered his eyes, before one of his eyes revealed itself as the other one is still covered by his bangs, all while the eye color was amber with a shade of red.

He chuckled darkly as his voice became slightly deep and threatening "You make a good point Yukino Miyazaki, but I too am aware of what reputation you have with the White Fang as well."

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow at that "Then tell me, how am I involved with that group in anyway possible."

"You have a reputation for slaughtering it's members, as well as their lieutenants." Fujimori replied, before his smirk is replaced by a solemn, yet melancholic expression "However, you and I have one thing in common." with that statement, his eye suddenly transformed back to it's blue color as the second one reveals itself "We experienced some major shit regarding our reputations with the White Fang."

He sighed resignedly "That's something both of us can't share with the other students, right?"

Miyazaki could only stare at him for a while, before sighing herself "I can't deny that it is something I would rather keep to myself, though we aren't the only ones with connections to them."

"I know, but that's not the only thing we should worry about." Shun looked at her "Both of us can't keep our secrets to ourselves for that long, especially once we form a team with two more members."

The girl simply nodded in response.

Both of them sat in silence as the crackling sounds of the fire was the only sound heard from the two.

"Miyazaki." He called out to the faunus, effectively getting her attention "I suggest that we should start trusting each other from here on out."

"Why do you say that?" She asked curiously.

Shun can only give a small smile in response "As much as both of us don't like to talk about our pasts, we should at least trust each other for the time being, besides I have a gut feeling that our two other members can be trusted too."

Yukino smiled slightly "Well, since both of us have a form of burden on our shoulders, I believe the idea of trust does have a lot of merit behind them."

"Cool, besides I'm here in Beacon to prove my reputation doesn't mean anything to me." He said as looked at the night sky.

The girl nodded as she also looked at the sky with her new partner.

"Hopefully, we should also be able to trust those outside of our team." She said, getting a nod of acknowledgement from the boy.

"Yeah, some new friends would be cool too." The boy smiled as he and his partner sat in silence.

* * *

 **Forever Fall**

Weiss couldn't stop staring at Cayden as both of them, along with Magnar and Blake were resting near a fire made by the cat faunus herself.

 _"Should I tell him?"_ She questioned herself, before shaking her head _"No, he has to know about this."_

"Cayden Walsh, right?" The girl spoke up, getting the attention of her new partner.

"Yes, and you are Weiss Schnee." Cayden said, raising an eyebrow "What do you need?"

"Do you by any chance know Cedric Walsh?" Weiss asked, looking away slightly.

"He's my father, why?" The silver haired boy answered, not knowing why she asked.

"Do you hate me?" She said, her eyes were shadowed slightly.

"Hmm?" He seemed confused by what she said.

"Your father died during an accident at the dust mines." The heiress rubbed at her arm as memories came to her mind "He was a good man, he looked after me when I got lost in the mines." she looked at her partner "He even told me about you and how he would always work hard to provide for his family."

"I used to be biased towards the faunus." Weiss confessed looking ashamed "He was a faunus himself, and yet he was one of the kindest souls I've ever met in my entire life." she sighed "His death was swept under the rug by my father and I couldn't do anything about it since I was still a little girl, but he gave me hope that any other faunus would be like him." her expression turned slightly sour "I still wished I could've done something for bring justice for him after his death."

She turned to me "Do you hate me, because of your father being forgotten by everyone in the SDC."

"That's a stupid thing to say, you know that?" Cayden spoke up, surprising her "My father told me of how he interacted with you." he continued "You shouldn't blame yourself for something that you couldn't control, and never assume that I would hate you for it, I thought you were smarter than that."

Weiss looked down on the ground "Still, your father is the reason why I still have faith in the faunus in general." her face twisted to anger for a moment "Even with the White Fang scum running around."

"Whatever he did, I'm glad he opened your mind to all what they had to suffer for." The tanned boy said, smiling slightly "He always had this effect on people, no matter who they are."

The heiress smiled at him _"Maybe partnering with him isn't so bad, I just hope Ezra is fine wherever he is right now."_

Meanwhile, Blake was staring at Magnar with an expression of curiosity and recognition.

 _"I know I've seen him before."_ The raven haired girl thought to herself _"But I probably shouldn't-"_

"Girl." He suddenly called out, surprising the girl in response.

She stared at him, surprised as he looked at her with the same expression she had when she looked at him.

To her surprise, he smiled sadly at her "I always knew that you would never partake in such violence, Blake."

 _"Wait a minute!"_ After getting a good look on his face, her eyes widen in shock "L-Lieutenant Magnar!?"

He chuckled "You certainly didn't recognize me at first when we were falling, though it was understandable why."

"B-But how!?" Blake stepped back slightly.

"I apologize if I scared you back then." The bull faunus said frowning sadly "My experiences with the White Fang in the past, were something that didn't come to mind when we were falling."

"Then, ... why are you here?" She asked hesitantly.

Magnar took the time to stare at the girl before speaking "I came here ... to redeem myself of the crimes I committed." he continued looking down on the ground "Especially all the deaths that I caused."

The girl continued to stare at him intently, she hadn't interacted with him much but when they did it was always during missions, but one specific memory made her ask "How did you leave?" they were on different missions so she didn't truly witness him leave the group.

"I used to follow their orders blindly, which meant having to kill all those people that didn't deserve death." The redhead said "It took me the second-to-last mission I was on to realize how much the White Fang was getting violent, so on my last I decided to fake my death and officially leave the group for good."

 _"'Fake my death', I guess that's the reason why the details were vague at best."_ She thought to herself.

"In all honesty, I believed in any methods used to ensure humans wouldn't discriminate us anymore." He admitted before an expression of anger filled his face "Taurus taking the violence too far, was one of the reasons for my departure from that group."

"What are you going do?" Blake asked curiously "If the White Fang finds out you're alive then-"

"I would have to fight them if they plan to take me back." Magnar cut her off, before saying "I just wish that the group would one day return to being a peaceful one, but that isn't possible with the current leadership."

The girl nodded in agreement, before sighing "I actually left the Fang during a mission with Adam, I wanted equality between the humans and the faunus, not to make our discrimination even worse than before."

"I can't blame you for your decision." He said, before adding quietly "I hope that young man left the group while he still could."

"Well, from one member of the White Fang to another." She placed a hand on her chest "I plan to make things right by becoming a huntress, so I can stop their plans from killing more innocent lives."

The bull faunus actually chuckled at that "If you plan on doing something like that, then I'll support you to the best of my abilities."

* * *

 **Mountain Glenn**

Ajax and Valerie were resting near of one of the buildings, with a small fire made to warm them.

They sat in silence for a while until the latter speaks up "Well, since we're partners now, I think it's for the best that we try to get to know each other, be friends."

"Eh, I don't mind us being friends." Silver said casually "You don't mind if I shared my reasons to be here, right?"

"I don't, but why now?" She asked.

"If were going to be friends, then we should get to know each other better." The faunus explained, lacing his arms behind his head "Simple as that."

"Alright then." The hidden girl said, slightly curious.

"First off, I come from a normal family, like really normal!" Ajax exclaimed for emphasis "My dad worked in a small dust shop, and my mom worked as a nurse, but we were poor." His expression turned somber "We had a tight budget, and my parents would work long hours to provide for me and my sisters." He brought his knees to his chest "I thought if I became a huntsman, then my family would have all the Lien they need, they actually gave me their support so I trained under a retired huntsman, which led to my semblance and pretty much what I needed to sign up for Beacon Academy."

"Wow." Valerie whistled "I take it that you greatly cared for your family then."

"They're my motivation so I can keep going." The black-haired boy smiled fondly "My family isn't really public knowledge since we're faunus, so I thought becoming huntsman would give them something to be proud of."

"That's admirable." She admitted.

"What about you?" Ajax had his attention on his partner "Like, why are you pretending to be a dude and whatnot?"

With his question, the girl fell silent for a few seconds before responding "Promise not to judge me for it."

"Just who the hell do you think I am?" He said incredulously "Of course I'm not going to judge you for it, since it's your choice to be like that."

In response, she sighed and then revealed what her partner needed to know "My family consisted of only huntsmen, the women were merely housewives every time the family grew bigger, they were all famous." Valerie admitted "When I said I wanted to be a huntress to my father, he laughed and told me I should leave the Grimm hunting to him and his friends."

"Your dad sound like a dick for turning you down." Silver stated bluntly.

"He wasn't mocking me, he just wanted to keep me and mom safe." The girl quickly defended her father before continuing "But I didn't want to be sheltered any longer, so I decided to train under a professional huntress in secret while unlocking my semblance and honing my fighting skills."

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow at that "What did you do next?"

"When I was enrolled for Beacon, my father was highly against it." She said in reply, sighing "It took me, my mother, and my grandmother to convince him, I even decided to cut my hair short and wear a chest binder, but he told me as long as I'm okay with my decision, he's the first male member of my family that ever supported my dreams of being a huntress."

"As for my reason, I want to keep my family's name alive while also being the very first female hunter in my family." Valerie looked at the ground "I wish my father to truly notice and acknowledge that I can be a hunter just like him, which adds another reason why I decided to train in secret."

She prepared herself to be judged, only for her partner to smile as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Like I before, I'm not going to judge you for what you had to do. Ajax smiled gently as he sat next to her "Hell, my parents were reluctant before they supported my goals." he looked at her "Think about it, once both of us are on a team with two more people then I'm sure they're not gonna judge you too."

"Ajax." The hidden girl said as she smiled at him "Thank you."

The faunus smirked in response "Don't mention it."

 _*MEANWHILE*_

Shizuka and Riley were also resting comfortably near the fire made by the latter.

The blue-haired shifted uncomfortably as she stared at the girl-looking boy while biting her bottom lip.

 _"The moment I held on to him while falling, I knew he was a boy."_ She thought as she continued to stare at him.

"Is there anything you would want to say, Shizuka?" Riley asked calmly, not bothered by being stared at.

"N-Nothing!" She needed to say something fast "I-I was just wondering how you signed up for Beacon?"

"I see then." The boy didn't seem convinced by what she said, but decided to answer her question "I'm here because I want to break my family's tradition."

"Tradition?" Shizuka tilted her head slightly.

"I come from Atlas and my family consisted of soldiers fighting alongside James Ironwood." The gray-haired boy explained "My family's tradition was to automatically train and become a soldier for the kingdom of Atlas once a new member turns six years of age, which is why I decided to break that tradition by coming to Vale and becoming a huntsman."

"Oh?" The girl seemed surprised by this "Then I guess it wouldn't hurt to reveal my reason to come here too."

"I'm listening." His tone was gentle which set her at ease.

"I'm here in Beacon, because my superiors told me to." Aoki admitted, looking away slightly.

"Superiors?" He narrowed his eyes at that word.

"W-Well, I was sheltered for most of my childhood because my parents were killed by Grimm." She looked at ground, as she continued "Some strange men decided to take me into their base when I was only a year old."

She then shook her head and looked at him sadly "I-I'm sorry, but that's all I'm going to tell you, for now." The girl added the last part quietly, but it didn't go unheard by Riley.

"Very well then, I will not force to reveal what you have experienced in the past." He then looked at the sky as it was pitch black from the current time "I suggest that you should sleep now, I'll keep watch to ensure Grimm don't come close."

"O-Okay." Shizuka said, but then turned to him "Just please be safe!"

Riley turned around slightly, before a small smile appeared on his normally serious expression as he nodded in response.

The blue-haired girl could only watch as he faded into the darkness, as she slept for the night.

* * *

 **Emerald Forest**

Ruby and Kiyoshi were resting near the latter's campsite as they sat comfortably with the fire's crackling being the only sound made.

"So ... I have to ask." The girl decided to break the silence.

He looked at her and allowed himself to listen to what she had to say.

"How did you end up getting into Beacon like me?" She asked, prompting him to fall silent for a while.

"Let's just say, certain circumstances led me to meet him by coincidence." Kiyoshi explained "I assume that he accepted you because of your knowledge over aura, since that is the reason why he accepted me at my current age."

"Oh?" Ruby was surprised by this "So, you've been here for days before we all came here?"

"He offered me a place to stay in the academy." He clarified "I've stayed there for two months, honing my skills and learning new ones." the boy looked down for a moment "However, I have no idea as to what purpose I would have for joining such a prestigious school."

The crimsonette looked at him for a few seconds before saying "Well, I came here to Beacon out of keeping a promise, and the desire to help as many people as I can."

"That's an admirable reason, I must admit." His expression softened as he spoke "Hopefully, I would find my own goal in this academy once classes start."

"I hope you find that goal." She whispered, wanting to support him.

After a few seconds, he stood up and stretched "You should get some sleep, I'll set some traps around us to prevent any Grimm from killing us in our sleep."

"Okay." The girl's voice was barely heard.

"One more thing I would add." He said, getting Ruby's attention "I hope we get along very fine, for the next four years in this school." with that, he walked out of the campsite to set traps using aura-infused wires.

"I'm fine with that." She said taking off her coat and using it to help her get comfortable as she laid on the ground.

 _"I managed to make some friends, by following my sister's wishes as well as my own."_ The silver-eyed girl mused thoughtfully as she stared at the night sky _"Most of which smiled at me, while I never smiled back."_

She sighed tiredly _"I hope my time in Beacon would change that for the better."_

With that last thought, she immediately fell asleep as the darkness slowly took over her mind.

 **To be continued ...**

 **I have to admit, the title did not sound promising but I assure you that bonds will form throughout this story as it goes on. Looks like, we learned some new things about the OCs. I hope the interactions weren't forced, I really tried to make them as realistic as possible. Stay tuned for the next chapter! ;)**

 **Next Chapter: When Dawn Rises**


	9. C7: When Dawn Rises

_**Hey guys! This chapter will be relatively short compared to the others, because it's only about characters waking up in the morning and preparing themselves as their initiation is gets harder for them. There is also a major character interaction too, as well as a surprise waiting at the end ;)**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

 **Beacon Academy**

Yuna was rolling through the hallways as dawn rises throughout the entire school, but she had different thoughts in mind.

 _"Where's Makoto?"_ The redhead mused as she continued to roll through the halls.

Out of nowhere, she is suddenly stopped in her tracks. She turns her head around, only to notice Kyosuke smiling at her as he stopped her wheelchair by grabbing one of the handles.

"Looking for someone?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I'm looking for my younger brother Makoto." She said, sighing a bit "I knocked the door on his dorm along with his team's, but they weren't inside when I decided to open the door myself."

"I see then." The young man crossed his arms "Have you tried asking Ozpin, he might know where he and his team is?"

"That never crossed my mind when I was looking for him." Yuna cupped her chin thoughtfully "Then would you mind taking me to his office, both of us would know he'll be up early to monitor the students."

"Knowing that man, I can bet he's planned something for the majority of the second-year students." Hayashi pushed her wheelchair as they made their way to the headmaster's office "A plan that involves the first-year students' initiation."

"I can see that." She said as her former teammate pushed her to the elevator as it would lead to the headmaster's office.

* * *

 **Emerald Forest**

 **Ruby and Kiyoshi**

"Wake up." A voice called out quietly to her, while she was still sleeping.

Ruby shifted slightly in her sleep as the voice itself reached her ears.

"It's already dawn." The voice called out again, but slightly louder "If you don't wake up, the Grimm will attack you in your sleep."

"Five more minutes." She murmured, still not waking up.

"If you don't wake up, I'll eat these cookies all by myself." That did the trick, as the girl snaps her eyes open.

"Cookies!" Ruby immediately sits up, only to find Kiyoshi staring at her with an unreadable expression.

"I apologize if I had to lie to you." He said evenly "The headmaster had already made the morning announcement to tell us to prepare for the actual initiation."

In response, she immediately flushed in embarrassment upon realizing what his words meant.

 _"Did I just let myself blush again?"_ The girl thought as she felt the heat on her face _"That's the second time someone's made me blush in this school without even trying."_

"Are you going to just stay that way with that blush on your face?" The white-haired boy questioned, raising an eyebrow.

The crimsonette immediately flinched, but answered "N-No!"

He nodded at her answer as he reached his hand out to her "Then let's move, who knows what the headmaster has planned for us."

Ruby stared at his hand for a moment, before grabbing it as she stood up.

"Thanks." She said, dusting herself off as she picked up her long coat and removed any form of dirt before wearing it.

Nakamura could only watch as his partner geared herself up with her own weapons, as he moved closer to where she was standing to get a good look of her looking over to said weapons.

The girl counted her ammo on her pistol-gauntlets and frowned slightly at the half full magazine.

 _"I should consider adding an ammunition belt to my arsenal, since these weapons have a limit to them compared to the twin blades and the katana."_ Ruby mused thoughtfully, before a hand is placed on hers.

She turns to see Kiyoshi staring at her with a thoughtful expression, the girl blushes slightly when he opens one of her hands and grabs the other. He then puts the opened hands together and places his right hand on the center of both hands.

He closed his eyes and his hand started to glow a silvery gray color as extra magazines appeared out of nowhere onto her hands.

Ruby widens her eyes in both shock and surprise as the magazines were exactly the same as the ones she has in her pistol-gauntlets. She narrows her eyes as she tried to reload using said magazines.

To add more to her shock, they perfectly fit inside the two firearm weapons, with even the same dust rounds she had made using her fairly limited knowledge on dust.

 _"How did he know exactly what I needed?"_ She stared at him intently before staring back at the copies he made _"I should ask him to confirm what I think it is."_

"Kiyoshi, is that your-" The girl was about to ask, but is then cut off by him ...

"Semblance?" ... only to hear that he finished her sentence with a raised eyebrow, before nodding in confirmation "To answer what question you were about to ask, then yes." as if on cue, his entire body glowed with the same colored aura he had on his hand when he made the magazines appear out of nowhere "My semblance is Creation."

"Creation?" Ruby narrowed her eyes slightly as she inched closer to get a better hearing of his explanation.

"My semblance gives me the ability to create whatever comes to my mind, with the exception of living things and beings." The boy explained as chains appeared on his gloved hand for emphasis.

"So the wires and chains I saw from you were the result of your semblance's abilities?" She asked rhetorically, to which he nodded in response.

"However, it is limited to what I can imagine in my thoughts." Kiyoshi explained further "But anything I can create can be based off of either what I can think of in my mind, how I imagine certain things depending on how someone describes them to me, or how much I can memorize what things already look like."

He then pointed at the magazines he created "While this may not be slightly related to my semblance, but your actions when you scanned your weapons gave me the idea that you needed extra magazines to your arsenal, your expressions especially said everything I needed to create those copies."

The girl was both amazed and a bit shocked at how he managed to create something out of witnessing her actions alone.

"Admittedly, I was curious on what weapons you had in your arsenal which is why I moved closer to where you were standing." The white-haired boy said looking at her "When I saw your firearm weapons and the fact that you were counting the amount of bullets inside them, it came to my mind that you required more ammunition." He pointed at the magazines again "To which I created copies of them for you."

Ruby looked at her pistols as they were now in gauntlet form and then looking at her partner.

"Why did you do it though?" She asked him curiously "What made you decide to make these copies for me?"

"Why?" Nakamura's expression softened slightly "That's because as your partner, I will take it upon myself to help you to the best of I can do." he closed his eyes "The same would also apply to our team, once we have two more members."

 _"I don't know what to say,"_ The girl was in slight awe by what he said _"But underneath that stoic mask, he's genuinely kind and helpful."_ her lips tugged slightly upwards _"I can tell because of the aura he's currently releasing."_

 _"It was just like Ezra and Weiss'"_ She remembered her interaction with them on the airship _"An aura filled with trust and understanding, with the addition of kindness."_ his personality then came to mind _"He's stoic yes, but I believe he's far from emotionless."_

 _"I wonder what he had to go through if he's that stoic, since his expressions would rarely change even when they soften."_ Ruby mused thoughtfully _"However, there's no point in asking now due to initiation."_ one thought then crosses her mind _"Oh yeah, I should request something from him since his semblance involves creating things."_

"Can I make a request?" She asked, getting the boy's attention "I need you to create something from your semblance."

"Of course, what do you need?" He responded, his aura beginning to glow.

"Do you think you can create an ammunition belt?" The crimsonette rubbed her arm, looking away slightly.

"I can do that, but you have to describe what it should look like." Kiyoshi said, crossing his arms.

"Well, the belt has to fit around my skirt obviously, and it should keep around four to six magazines." Ruby described her requested item in detail "Also the belt has to be leather that's colored gray, along with having multiple studs and a silver buckle, and the belt has to be removable too. Please." she added the last part quietly as she stared at him.

In response to her request, the white-haired boy immediately puts his hands around the girl's hips, which causes her to blush slightly at being touched like that. The aura on his hands had the same colored glow as the ammunition belt she requested suddenly appears around her skirt with the details she added as well.

"Whoa." She was in awe as she touched the belt she was wearing and felt that it was without a doubt real.

"I think you should keep the magazines I created so the belt would start being useful." Nakamura stated bluntly.

"R-Right!" The girl immediately puts the copied magazines onto her new belt "Um, can I ask for four more so I can fill up the belt itself."

The boy wordlessly created four more magazines in response, to which she thanks him as she puts them on her belt's magazine containers.

"Alright, I'm ready." She nodded at him as they began walking through the forest.

Ruby looks around to see some of the wires covered in Grimm blood, indicating that they have stumbled upon her partner's traps as they were sliced to pieces due to how sharp they were.

"I used my aura to render the wires invisible to the Grimm only." He explained, upon seeing his partner look around her surroundings "My knowledge on aura allowed me to mask an object's presence and visibility to specific individuals, that includes the Grimm in general."

 _"It's almost similar to how I use my aura to make myself invisible to the people around me."_ She mused as she witnesses a random Beowolf getting sliced apart by the wires set by Kiyoshi as they are rendered invisible to them _"It can even conceal my presence and aura around the Grimm."_

"Out of curiosity, how much knowledge do have on aura?" The boy asked, turning his head slightly to her "You never truly verified what I had said about how the both of us were accepted into Beacon because of them."

"Well, how much do you know about aura then?" The crimsonette asked.

"The most obvious example is my semblance, and I even explained how I can use it to conceal an object's presence." He said, before adopting a thoughtful expression "However, I can also use it to sense other people's aura within their vicinity, as well as to use them for attacks and transmuting them into other substances."

" _So he's just like me then, but with different abilities."_ She nodded at his answer and proceeds to explain about her own aura "My aura allows me to conceal my own presence, as well as implanting them into a person or object, and I have enough of it to gain two semblances."

"Interesting, I take it that you would not reveal what they are until later on." Nakamura said, to which she nods in response "It seems like both of us have a somewhat deep understanding of our aura, with the abilities we have."

"Normally, I wouldn't tell anyone about my understanding of my aura." Ruby said, looking at him "But with our similarities regarding our early entrances to Beacon and our auras, I have no problems telling you all about it."

"I can say the same about you as well." The boy said, looking at her as well.

With that, they continued their walk silently as they head to their destinations assigned by Ozpin.

 **Shun and Miyazaki**

Shun wakes up by himself as he stretched his arms, before standing up.

As he did, he finds Miyazaki already prepared as she seemed to stare at him.

"Good morning?" The boy said awkwardly.

"I see that you're finally up, I managed to hear the headmaster's morning announcement while you were still sleeping." The white-haired faunus said evenly, before sighing "If we're going to trust each other, like what you said, then we might as well 'have each others backs' as they say."

In response, he smiled "You're not wrong about that."

"Also, I would like to apologize for somewhat antagonizing you for your reputation." She looked away slightly "If you're here to prove that it means absolutely nothing to you, then I would gladly support you."

"Thanks." Fujimori chuckled, before smirking "I'm glad that you're not an ice queen."

"If you intend on teasing me, then you would have to do better than that." Yukino deadpanned in an even tone.

"I tried." He shrugged as he laced his hands behind his head "Besides, I'm looking forward to meeting our two future team members once we finish this."

The girl nodded in agreement, as both of them began to walk their way to what awaits them.

 **Lily and Ryoma**

"Wake up." Lily said, shaking her sleeping partner slightly "Wake up, Ryoma."

"Ma, I don't want to go to school." The boy murmured, refusing to wake up.

She pouted slightly as she decided to whisper something in his ear.

"If you don't wake up, I will hit you."

That seemed to work, as Ryoma immediately wakes up and cowers in fear.

"Don't hit me Ma!" He shouted in a cowering position "I'll be a good boy!"

In response, he heard giggles as it came from his much shorter partner.

"I'm sorry for waking you up like that." She bowed politely, as she apologized "But initiation won't wait by itself."

To her surprise, she hears her partner laughing as he flashed her an amused expression.

"Sorry 'bout that." Yukimura sheepishly rubbed the back of his back "I was just damn sleepy."

"It's alright." Lily smiled at him "Let's go."

"Heh, alright then." He smirked as he stood up and grabbed his sword "Let's do this shit!"

 **Ezra and Kiara**

Kiara wakes up by herself, as she sits up and looks at her surroundings.

"Good morning, Miss Belladonna." She turns to see Ezra smiling warmly as he was prepared "I hope that you had a good rest."

In response, she gave him a small smile and nodded.

 _"I'm glad that we are progressing very quickly in terms of trust."_ He smiled at her progress in trusting him.

"Look, I know I've said this already, but ..." The cat faunus trailed off before finding her voice "I'm sorry for thinking that you were like the other humans, my experiences in the past did not help my case at the time." she stood him and faced him "I hope there are others just like you in the academy."

"I assure you that I took no offense to you thinking of that." The boy reached his hand out to her "I do hope that you would make great friends here in Beacon."

She smiled at him, but then frowned as something else came into her mind.

"Is there something bothering you?" Ezra asked, getting her out of her thoughts.

"Nothing." Kiara simply replied in response.

He wasn't convinced by her reply, but didn't press further.

"Well, if there is anything bothering you then don't hesitate to tell me." He smiled gently at her.

"Sure, I trust you." The raven-haired girl said with a small smile "So I'll tell when I'm feeling bothered by something."

The boy nodded in response "Good, I believe we should make our leave now."

"Alright then, let's go." She agreed as they made their way to another part of initiation.

* * *

 **Forever Fall**

 **Cayden and Weiss and Blake and Magnar**

The heiress slowly woke up as she vaguely heard someone's voice call out to her.

"Hey, wake up." She opens her eyes to see Cayden staring at her as she faced him "You might want to wipe your face."

"Huh?" Touching her own face, she felt saliva and then realized that she was drooling.

Upon realizing that, the white-haired girl immediately wipes off her saliva with a flushed expression, before glaring at the silver-haired faunus.

He raised his arms in surrender "I'm not going to poke fun at you for it, but I'm gonna tell you that it's now morning, which means that initiation has now begun."

Blinking, she immediately stood up and said "Then we have no time to waste."

"Hold it!" Weiss turned around to see Blake and Magnar staring at them, with the latter grinning toothily.

"What do you need?" Cayden asked, crossing his arms.

"Well, since there is already the four of us-" The girl was cut off by her partner's boisterous laughing.

"Then we are a team already!" The bull faunus shouted as he grinned wildly.

 _"What?"_ The heiress' mind was already filled with doubt _"I don't think-"_

Her thoughts were cut off by her partner coughing to get her attention.

"I believe they are our best option, Weiss." The wolf faunus said, getting a confused look from his partner.

"What, why?" She asked, wanting to know why he was agreeing with the two before her.

"I took the time to scout the entire forest, as I was the first one to awaken." He explained as he looked at the two students in front of him "There are no other students besides the four students you saved from falling."

A dark look etched on his features for a brief moment "However, those four students are nothing but trouble, and in any case, not suitable team members."

Weiss saw how serious he was, so she sighed "I'll take your word for it."

"So, I take it that we're technically a team now?" Blake said, looking at the two and then at Magnar.

"An unofficial one, until initiation ends." The heiress sighed, knowing that she would have to get used to working with very different people.

The bull faunus grinned widely as he pulled Blake, along with Weiss and Cayden into a hug using both of his arms as his right arm held his partner, while the other held his two soon-to-be team members.

"Let go of me this instant!" The white-haired girl demanded, as she felt the air in her system go away.

"I have a feeling this won't be the only time he'll do this." The raven-haired girl muttered under her breath.

"I believe we must move now, since initiation has just begun." The silver-haired faunus said, getting the redhead's attention as he let them all go.

Weiss gasped for air as she stood up, before recomposing herself "We have to go, now."

Everyone else nodded in agreement as all four of them began going through the red-colored forest.

* * *

 **Mountain Glenn**

 **Ajax and Valerie**

The hidden girl puts out the fire, as she and her partner began preparing themselves for the actual initiation.

"Alright, let's get going." The boy said as he grabbed his sword and puts it behind his back.

"Agreed." Valerie said as she slightly adjusts her clothes.

"You sure that chest binder is gonna do you any good?" Ajax asked curiously.

She sighed in response "Honestly, I'm not so sure myself but it's working so far, so I'll think about that after we finish this."

"Okay, but if you have problems with it," He pointed a thumb at himself as he grinned "I'm your guy."

The girl smiled "Alright then, let's go."

Both students immediately leave the area, as they proceeded on with whatever Ozpin had in store for them.

 **Shizuka and Riley**

The blue-haired girl yawns as she woke up to see her partner putting on a belt of some sorts.

"What is that?" She asked as she stood up by herself.

"A belt where I can hold my weapon." The feminine boy responded evenly as he adjusted his belt slightly.

"But I've never seen that belt before on you." Aoki pointed out as she reached out for her dust rifle.

"I wasn't wearing it, because I saw no reason to at the time." Riley explained as he looked at her with a slightly unreadable expression "So I simply hid it inside my blazer, along with my weapon."

"Oh, okay then." The girl said accepting that explanation.

"At any case, I believe the best course of action now is to move." The boy observed the skies "There's no telling what awaits us, so should move now."

Shizuka nodded in response as she gathered the rest of her weapons, before heading out with Riley.

 **Jaune and Pyrrha**

"Jaune, wake up." The redhead warrior called out to her partner "Initiation has just started."

In response, the blonde slowly opens his eyes as he stretched out his arms and then faces her.

"What time is it?" He yawned as he stood up and grabbed his sword and shield.

"It's now dawn, according to the skies." She responded, looking the sky herself "We should move now, we might be able to see some other students around these ruins."

"Alright, lead the way." Jaune said smiling at his partner.

Pyrrha nodded as she smiled as well, before both of them began to enter parts of the abandoned city.

 _"At least, I'm partners with someone who is not aware of my reputation."_ The girl smiled as she looked at the boy.

 **Ren and Nora**

The black-haired boy opens his eyes, only to find his best friend staring into them.

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" The ginger-haired girl shouted excitedly "Are you ready for initiation!"

In response, the boy shook his head in amusement as he said "Sure, I am."

"Hurray!" Nora threw her arms up in excitement "Then what are you waiting for, let's go!"

With that, the girl immediately runs head first into other parts of the abandoned safe haven, laughing as she carried her hammer.

Ren stands up by himself as he gathered his weapons, and then proceeds to follow his energetic friend.

After running for a while, he immediately stops as he felt something in both mind and body.

 _"I sense someone else's aura."_ He thought as he looked around _"However, it doesn't belong me, Nora, or any of the other students in this area."_

Unbeknownst to him, a pair of eyes were watching as he shook his head and proceeded to chase after his friend.

* * *

 **Emerald Forest**

 **Ruby and Kiyoshi**

After walking for a couple of minutes, the girl noticed that she hasn't seen any other Grimm, besides the one that was killed by one of her partner's traps.

"Do you sense it as well?" Kiyoshi asked, suddenly stopping in his tracks.

"Huh?" She was confused, before she felt a third presence around the area.

"There is someone watching us." The boy said as he took a wary glance around his surroundings.

"But who could it be?" Ruby asked as slowly reached for one of her blades.

"Interesting, it seems both of you managed to detect my presence rather easily." A new voice said as a third person appeared before the two students as they landed on a nearby tree, resting on a branch.

The crimsonette narrowed her eyes at the person in front of her and Nakamura.

"Who are you?" The white-haired boy asked warily as he stepped forward "Identify yourself."

"I suppose I should drop the formal talk and introduce myself." The person chuckled as they introduced themselves "My name is Makoto Himura, and I am the leader of Team MDNT (Midnight), as well as your upperclassman."

 _"A second-year student."_ The girl decided to observe the student's appearance.

Makoto's gender was the same as Kiyoshi's, as he has dark red messy hair that's swept to the left with a small tuft of hair on the right, as well as having light green eyes with black square eyeglasses over them, and a fair complexion. His physique is completely average, but is not by any means weak.

He is wearing a white dress shirt with the light gray semi-formal vest and a black necktie, he also wears black pants with black boots with white laces on them. He also has a dark gray overcoat draped on his shoulders as he carried a book with a brown leather cover, as well as wearing black gloves.

"The Grimm won't be your only obstacle," Makoto began to explain his presence "Professor Ozpin has assigned me to test you both to see if you either use your strength and skill to defeat me in battle, or your intelligence and wits to get past me, especially with the amount of aura both of you have."

 _"If his explanation is any indication, then all of us would have to go up against the second-year students as well."_ Kiyoshi mused thoughtfully as he stared intently at the boy sitting on the tree branch.

 _"Looks like the Grimm isn't the only thing we should be worried about."_ Ruby pulled out her blades as she also stared at the boy testing them.

"Once you pass this initiation, I look forward to working with you both in the future." The redhead smiled politely.

The two students were now facing their very first obstacle which is their upperclassman, but they will not be only ones doing so ...

 **To be continued ...**

 **I suck at keeping a promise to write a short chapter, but at least this update is quick. I hope you enjoyed the surprise at the end, because the Grimm won't be the students' only obstacle. Stay tuned for the next chapter :)**

 **Next Chapter: The Upperclassmen.**


	10. C8: The Upperclassmen (Part 1)

_**Hey everyone! I've decided to split this chapter into three parts, because I have to introduce the second-year students including the canon ones and also because it would take a while to come up with appropriate fight scenes and action in the next two. They will appear just as much as the first-year students and even the protagonist Ruby. I hope you found the twist interesting, and I look forward to see what you think about this chapter and the second-year OC students :)**_

 _ **PS: I somehow lost data due to the internet being cut off before I could save it, which means I had to start over, which is why the update took so long for me to do :(**_

 _ **Happy reading :D**_

 **Emerald Forest**

 **Ruby and Kiyoshi**

There was a small silence as the two first-year students stared at their upperclassman, already preparing themselves to act once he starts attacking them.

Sighing, the second-year student decided to break the silence.

"Now that introductions are finished," Makoto spoke as he stood up on the tree branch "I'll begin testing the two of you."

The redhead opened the book he was carrying as it began glowing a pure white aura.

Ruby and Kiyoshi immediately tensed, as the former was gripping the hilt of her blades tighter and the latter's aura began flaring throughout his entire body.

Without warning, multiple portals appeared out of nowhere in front of the two students as they all surrounded the area Makoto is in, as well as some trees.

He stared at his underclassmen, before smiling as aura beams shot out of each portal, prompting the two to separate as they dodged the beams themselves.

 _"I can't deny that he has power."_ The white-haired boy mused as he switched directions to avoid getting hit by each beam as they pierced the trees that supposedly provided small cover from the beams' line of fire, he then turns right and hides behind a large nearby tree, presumably to create a weapon using his semblance.

That did not go unnoticed by his upperclassman, as he removed his glasses to sense his aura from his hiding spot.

Smirking, he creates another portal behind the large tree as a chain shot out from it and wrapped itself around said tree. He then flicks his finger, causing the chain to pull the tree as it was pulled out of the ground.

As soon as the dust clears from the tree being pulled out of it's spot, Nakamura had created a long black spear with a sharp pointed silver tip. He narrows his eyes as he gripped the spear tightly before adopting a stance where he bends his knees slightly and holds the spear using his right hand as stared at the portal turning his head left along with the left side of his body.

Two more portals appear as they shot out stronger aura beams heading towards where the boy is standing.

In response, he swiftly turns right to dodge the beams, in which the portals tilted slightly to shoot out more. The boy remained calm as he brought the spear in front of him and deflected some of them, before spinning it to deflect the rest.

 _"I hope Ruby is doing fine on her own."_ He thought worriedly, as he ran while deflecting the beams in the process.

 **Shun and Miyazaki**

Both students were walking through the forest, but the white-haired faunus couldn't help but notice the lack of Grimm around their current area.

 _"Normally, there would be at least one Beowolf that would come out to attack us."_ The girl mused as she warily scanned her surroundings.

"Hey, Miyazaki." Shun spoke up, grabbing his partner's attention "It's strange that there isn't any Grimm around, you know?"

"I know that." Yukino replied quietly, still looking around for signs of danger.

"Good job, snow girl." A new voice said out of nowhere "You noticed that there isn't any Grimm around to fight,"

The two students immediately tensed as they look around for the source of the voice, with Miyazaki pulling out one of her handguns and Fujimori pulling out silver knuckles and putting it on his hands.

"Who are you?" She asked, narrowing her eyes dangerously "Show yourself!"

A dark chuckle was heard as a girl emerged from one of the tree's shadows.

"I think I've had my fun watching you guys." The girl smirked in amusement as she came forward "As for introductions, my name is Doreen Sullivan from Team MDNT (Midnight), and second-year student to boot."

Doreen was slightly older than both underclassmen as she has long black hair with dark purple streaks on her bangs that is tied into a ponytail, she has dark red eyes and a very pale complexion. She has a slightly average build with a modestly sized bust, and is wearing some black mascara on her eyes.

She is wearing a black trench coat over a black long-sleeved v-neck shirt, dark gray pants, and black leather boots with the pants' legs tucked inside each leg. She also wore black fingerless gloves with a small gray scarf that covered her neck. The girl was carrying a seemingly large gun behind her back as it had a black strap.

"The Grimm aren't going to be your only problem." Doreen explained, still smirking "You're gonna have to go through me first, if you want to grab those relics."

Miyazaki's eyes narrowed further as she places the gun back in the belt's holster, before an icy blue glow appeared on her right hand. She closed her eyes as the glow created an ice sword, much to her partner's surprise and shock.

"Whoa! Is that your semblance?" Shun asked, as he stared at the weapon in awe.

"I suppose I should tell you about it now." The white-haired girl opened her eyes before speaking quietly "My semblance allows me to manipulate and control ice and snow, as well as making it out of thin air."

"Does it also mean you can create weapons and stuff too?" He raised an eyebrow.

She didn't say anything, but nodded in response.

"Well, then it looks like it's the perfect time to show off my weapon." The boy smiled as the silver knuckles transformed into silver spiked gauntlets with dust cannons attached to them, they also resembled a knight's gauntlet.

It was his partner's turn to raise an eyebrow, but simply shrugged in acceptance.

Doreen noticed the students readying themselves and smiled in amusement at their power.

 _"They have a lot to learn, once they really start in this school."_ Her expression was warm for a few seconds, before a serious expression took over "Alright, but you're not gonna fight me alone."

As if in response to her words, her aura flared as the colors were pitch black. The shadow below her manifested itself into a very lifelike clone of her.

"Freshmen, meet Doreen 2.0 a.k.a. my shadow clone." Doreen introduced the clone itself.

"Creepy." Shun muttered under his breath.

The dark-haired girl then pulled out her gun, right before it transforms into a large metallic scythe. Her clone does the same action, but the scythe was a shadow as well.

She smirked as she and the clone got into a stance "Your move."

 **Lily and Ryoma**

They walked through the deep forest after waking up, until the rabbit faunus felt a droplet of water fall on her nose.

 _"Strange, I don't think there would be any rain around these parts."_ She thought before feeling more drops of water falling on her and her partner.

"Shit! Let's take cover!" The boy quickly grabbed her arm as he ran towards a nearby tree.

"R-Right!" The petite girl said, as the much taller boy pulls her under a tree where they took cover from an unexpected rain of some sorts.

"Damn, I don't think a fucking rain would start around here." Ryoma grumbled slightly, before turning to his much smaller partner "I'm sure as hell that there wouldn't be any rain if we go back."

"You have a point." Lily cupped her chin as she observed the rain closely, before her eyes widen in surprise at what she is seeing in the distance "Ryoma?"

"What is it?" The boy prepared himself to listen.

"I don't think this rain is caused by natural means." Her eyes never left what she is seeing "I think this is a kind of water semblance, because I see someone."

"Huh?" He was surprised by that info "Then who's out there?"

As if in response, a giggle can be heard from a distance, as a yellow hooded figure came into view.

"Who the hell are you?" Ryoma asked, narrowing his eyes.

The figure giggled again as they stepped closer "My my, it seems like my semblance has activated without me noticing again."

 _"Huh, what do they mean by that?"_ Lily asked as her mind searched for answers.

"I suppose I should introduce myself now." The figure reached out for their hood and pulled it off, revealing a girl with fish fins on the sides of her head "Hello, my name is Nagisa Mizushima of Team MDNT (Midnight) and your upperclassman."

The now named Nagisa stepped forward as her entire body came into full view.

She smiled at the two students, before bowing politely "At your service."

Lily took this opportunity to observe the girl's appearance.

Nagisa was an attractive girl as she has long platinum blonde hair that reaches the end of her back, cerulean blue eyes and a slightly fair complexion. Despite her rather average height, she is quite curvaceous with D-cup sized breasts, slightly wide hips, and is perfectly fit. She also has noticeable fish fins on the sides of her head.

She is wearing a yellow raincoat cloak over an armored light blue bikini top, a dark blue combat skirt, and black boots with black fishnet stockings. The girl also carried a medium-sized metallic trident on her back, along with wearing a brown leather belt with pouches around her skirt.

All in all, her appearance seemed to cause Ryoma to blush profusely.

 _"Damn, she's hot."_ He thought, his face turning even more red.

"Is your semblance water-related?" Lily asked, stepping forward slightly.

The blonde nodded in response "Correct, my semblance is my ability to manipulate and control the water around me." she closed her eyes as her aura was glowing a light blue glow as the rain slowed down significantly.

 _"With the amount of aura she has,"_ The rabbit faunus observed _"She can even create rain if she concentrates hard enough."_

"Uh, I got a question for ya." Her partner raised his hand "Are ya by chance a faunus?"

Nagisa nodded in response "Yes, I am a fish faunus to be specific."

 _"That would explain the fins on her head."_ The petite girl looked over to the older girl's fins.

Shaking her head, Lily speaks up "Why are you here?"

"Oh yeah!" Ryoma focused back to what was happening "What's your deal for being here?"

The fish faunus smiled as she began to explain "The headmaster has assigned me to test you both, which is another part of your initiation." she reached out for the trident on her back "In order for you two to continue on, you would have to get through me as another test."

"Another test, huh?" The boy grinned as he took out his sword "Give us your best shot."

"Best shot." She places a hand inside one of her pouches "Very well then."

To the students' surprise, their upperclassman took out two blue seeds from her pouch before transferring her aura into said seeds. Afterwards, she throws the two seeds onto the ground, to which the ground starts shaking as two creatures made out of water rise.

"What the fuck." Ryoma muttered, processing what he just saw.

"These two are water golems." Nagisa introduced the two creatures "They will be assisting me in testing you two."

As if on cue, one of the golems pick up the girl as they place her on it's head.

The girl readies her trident as she stared at the two first-years, she speaks up "I will not go easy on you both, but I will make sure to hold back slightly as I do."

"What do you mean by-" The boy was cut off as a large fist slammed itself on the ground with his eyes widened in surprise as he jumped back in response before the attack would hit him _"Shit, that was close."_ afterwards, he lands on another part of the area near his partner.

Before he could say anything, Mizushima immediately throws a water-formed spear at him. Luckily for the boy, Lily conjures a glyph that shields him from the next surprise attack.

"Your welcome!" She called out to him, to which he nodded in thanks.

The both of them knew their test was far from over, as they prepared themselves for more attacks from their upperclassman.

 **Ezra and Kiara**

He and his partner were walking through the forest, right before the former felt a third presence around them.

 _"I sense another person's aura around here."_ The boy thought as he then hears noises coming from the bushes.

A yawn can be heard as a boy emerged from one of the bushes, he then faced the students in front of him before deciding to introduce himself.

"Yo, it's nice to meet you two." He smiled as they waved his hand at his two underclassmen "The name's Travis Jones, member of Team MDNT (Midnight) and I'm here to test you two."

Travis was a year older than the two students as he has brown wavy hair that reaches his shoulders with bear ears on his head, he has dark green eyes and has a fair complexion. He has a slightly muscular physique with broad shoulders and is clearly taller than the two students.

He is wearing a silver chestplate over a black t-shirt along with spaulders and gauntlets, gray pants, and black combat boots. He also carried a double edged battleaxe on his back and is wearing a brown leather belt around his pants where he stores magazine rounds.

"Test us?" Kiara narrowed her eyes "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, the headmaster told me and my team to test you guys." The older boy explained "So, he assigned me to test you guys before you can get those relics."

"I see." Ezra came forward with a serious expression "I take it that we would have to get through you first."

"Yup, that's pretty much the gist of it." The brown-haired faunus said, before smirking "I'm not gonna go easy on guys though."

 _"That's to be expected from a school like this."_ The boy mused thoughtfully _"Judging from his appearance, he must be second-year student since there are no bear faunus among all of us first-year students."_

"To show you two how serious I am." Travis suddenly glowed as his aura is colored brown, then the boy suddenly grew large as fur grew all over his body with his head being replaced by an actual bear's.

He grinned toothily as he pulled out his axe and pointed it at the two "Get ready!"

The raven-haired faunus responded by taking off her jacket and gloves, and rolling up her sleeves. Her arms then transform into blades as she stared intently at her opponent.

Her partner pulls out his sword as it sparked with electricity, right before it transforms into the same set of armor he used when landing on the ground, but then he converts his aura into his right hand to conjure another sword.

Both sides charged at each other as blades suddenly clashed with one another.

* * *

 **Forever Fall**

 **Weiss and Cayden and Blake and Magnar**

The four students continued to walk though the red forest itself towards what surprise initiation had waiting for them.

Blake immediately tensed with her faunus hearing active, as she seemed to stare ahead.

"What is it, lass?" Magnar asked curiously.

"I sense two people ahead of us." The raven haired girl replied still staring ahead, as they entered an open area, to which two people were in sight.

"This initiation is getting interesting." Cayden said as he stared at the two people ahead of him.

 _"I wonder what those girls are here for?"_ Weiss narrowed her eyes, as she observed the two girls.

There were two girls in an open area as they awaited the new unofficial team.

The first girl was a year older than the four students as she has short dark-brown hair with wavy locks on one side of her face, dyed with a gradient that starts in dark brown and transitions to caramel, dark-brown eyes and a fair complexion. She has an average physique, but has noticeable curves on her chest and waist.

She wears a long, cocoa-colored shirt with a dark brown waist cincher, long dark brown trousers with ribbons on the left side and a brown belt with bullets. She also wears another cocoa-colored belt of bullets with a gold crosshairs buckle, along with a drape of black skirt hangs on her right side and a pair of dark brown, high-heeled leather boots with buckles.

The girl also dons a number of accessories, such a bracelet with black roses as a decoration, that are accompanied by black gloves and necklaces. She wears a beret of a darker brown and a pair of black, wire-rimmed aviator sunglasses. She is holding a black shoulder bag with gold studs, which is held by a bandolier strap.

The second girl was different as she has long brown hair that reached the end of her back along with long rabbit ears on her head, brown eyes and a pale complexion. She has an average build, but also had noticeable curves on her chest and waist.

She wears a short, long-sleeved brown jacket with a golden zipper and a black semi-translucent undershirt beneath her jacket, along with golden spaulders and vambraces on both arms, brown shorts with golden detail and black leggings, as well as a similar belt, and her heel and toe are likewise protected.

"Look what we have here." The first girl pulled down her sunglasses "The name's Coco Adel, the leader of Team CFVY (Coffee)." she pointed her thumb at the second girl "Her name's Velvet Scarlatina, also a member of my team."

"It's nice to meet you four." Velvet bowed politely "We're assigned by Professor Ozpin to test all of your strength and power."

"That's right." Coco stepped forward and smirked "Since we don't have time for chit-chat, we'll test you right now." she turned to the rabbit faunus "Velv, you can use your semblance on them."

"Thanks." The rabbit faunus nodded as placed down a camera and box as it produced a hard light copy of a bow as arrows materialized in her hand "I think I'll use Kirino's weapon and fighting style for this one."

 _"Judging from her stance, the bow she's using is not an ordinary one."_ Weiss observed the copied bow in her hand.

 _"Something doesn't feel right about that bow."_ Cayden narrowed his eyes, before turning to his partner.

Both students looked at each other for a moment and nodded, as if they had already agreed on something.

 _"Wait for it ..."_ They both thought, as their upperclassman aimed the bow at them.

However, Velvet decided to aim away from the students and shot a light arrow at the sky as it created a large glyph that covered a large area, catching the two off guard for a brief moment.

After a few moments, dozens of light arrows immediately shot out of the glyph as they hit multiple parts of the ground.

"Scatter!" Weiss shouted, grabbing Blake as they avoided each arrow.

"Let's move!" Cayden called out as he and Magnar ran to avoid getting hit.

Coco watched the four students running from the falling light arrows and then turned to Velvet "Good thing the glyph came with the bow you copied." she turned to the direction the male students were running "I'll go test the boys, while you go after the girls."

The rabbit faunus nodded in response as she and her friend parted ways to continue testing the students.

 **Cardin, Russel, Dove and Sky**

The four boys were still walking on their own, as Russell noticed something ahead of them.

"Look!" The mohawk boy pointed as he saw two people ahead of them.

True to his word, there were two boys standing as they the four students came to them.

The first boy has dark messy burnt orange hair that has a long fringe and a cowlick, pure white eyes and a dark complexion. He was slightly taller than some of the first-years, but has a lean build, as well as as his arms being covered in scars and a vertical scar is seen on his lips.

He was wearing a sleeveless, muted orange zipper vest with black lining and a high collar, a pair of black jeans and brown laced shoes. He also wears a pair of long black gloves and has several pouches attached to his belt, as well as having a pair of blades attached to his arms.

The second boy was different as he has shaved-short black hair, brown eyes and a tanned complexion. He has a tall and athletic build as his height towered over the four students before him, along with the first boy.

He was wearing a long short-sleeved robe, which he wears on one shoulder over a black muscle shirt and is fastened at the waist by a leather armored belt with two pouches on it, brown pants and black-and-green boots. His left arm bears a 5-layer sode which extends up past his shoulder, as well as carrying a large greatsword on his back.

"Hello there, I see that you four have finally arrived." The second boy said before introducing himself and the first boy "My name is Yatsuhashi Daichi and this is Fox Alistair, and we are members of Team CFVY (Coffee), as well as your upperclassmen."

Fox, the first boy, nodded in acknowledgement.

"We have been assigned by the headmaster to simply test all four of you, before you can get the relics." Yatsuhashi stated calmly, pulling out his sword "I would advise that all four of you to work together as one."

Cardin grinned cockily as he stepped forward and pulled out his mace "I got dibs on the first hit!"

With that, the boy immediately ran towards the two second-year students with the other three following suit.

* * *

 **Mountain Glenn**

 **Ajax and Valerie**

The two students were on their own as they passed through the ruins of the abandoned safe haven.

Ajax immediately tensed as his faunus senses detected something around them.

"What is it?" Valerie asked as she faced her partner curiously.

"My senses are on the fritz." The wolf faunus replied, looking around his surroundings "I don't think we're alone."

"That's correct." A new voice said as it came from either of the destroyed buildings "I apologize if I have been watching you two silently."

As if on cue, a girl appeared on the rooftop of another building as she stared at the two students with calm and calculating expression.

"I believe I must introduce myself now." The girl placed a hand on her chest as she introduced herself "My name is Kirino Amano and I am the leader of Team KYNO (Kayano), and your upperclassman."

Kirino has rose pink hair that is tied into two low pigtails, sky blue eyes and a fair complexion. She has a petite build, along with having a medium height and a seemingly flat chest.

She was wearing an olive green hooded cloak over a white-blue shirt with white sleeves and with some golden lines with a brown line around the middle of the sleeves and shirt, white trousers with brown boots with a golden line around them. She wears a light green cloth around her neck and wears black gloves on her hands. She carries a large white bow on her back with a quiver of arrows.

"Oh, so you're the one that's following us." Silver said as he stared intently at the girl.

"To avoid any confusion." Kirino sighed as she closed her eyes "I am in fact male, before you can ask any questions regarding my gender."

In response, the boy was quiet for a few seconds before his eyes widened and his jaw dropped comically in shock as he shouted "WHAT!?" in disbelief.

The second-year student on the roof was not a _she_ , but a _he._

 _"B-But how!?"_ The black-haired boy thought in disbelief, the fact that Kirino had an extremely girlish appearance, especially the face, did not help matters.

Valerie did not seem shocked nor surprised by the reveal as she was curious instead.

"Why are you here?" The hidden girl asked stepping forward "Is this a part of the initiation."

"You are correct that this is indeed a part of your initiation." The pink-haired boy nodded "As for why I am here, that is because the headmaster assigned me to test you two as another form of test."

With that said, he immediately pulled out his bow and loaded an arrow as he aimed at the sky.

"Prepare yourselves." Amano ordered as a glyph appeared in front of the arrow, before he released it as the arrow itself passed through the glyph and transformed into one made of aura as it split itself into many at once.

Seeing the incoming attack, Valerie quickly snapped her partner out of his stupor by slapping him lightly in the cheek.

"We have to move!" She said as she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards one of the buildings to avoid getting shot.

 **Shizuka and Riley**

The two students were passing through another part of the abandoned city, until Shizuka felt something run down her spine.

"Riley, there's someone here." The blue-haired girl said quietly as it got the boy's attention.

"What do you mean by that?" Riley asked, before a giggle can be heard out of nowhere.

"The girl is right, nya." A new voice said as a girl casually walked out one of the buildings "The headmaster assigned me to test the both of you, nya."

"Who are you?" The gray-haired boy stepped, reaching out for his weapon.

"Oh right, I didn't introduce myself yet, nya." The girl bowed politely at them before introducing herself "My name is Yuuki Sakurako and I'm a member of Team KYNO (Kayano) and your senpai, nya."

Yuuki has long bright blonde hair that is tied into a ponytail with a black bow as an accessory for it, bright blue eyes and a fair complexion. She has a petite build with a small bust, and has a long cat tail that is the same color as her hair.

She is wearing a dark blue jacket over a light blue sundress with a flower design, and white thigh-high boots with black socks underneath. She also has a black belt around her dress that carries a box of cards.

"Senpai?" Shizuka said tilting her head.

"It means I'm your upperclassman, nya." Yuuki said smiling "Himura-kun's way of addressing others is so fun, so I'm doing the same like him, nya."

"Are you here to test us?" Riley asked bluntly, still having his serious expression.

The blonde pouted slightly at the tone he used "Can I get your names, because I didn't listen to Glynda-sensei telling me your names, while the others did, nya."

"Our names?" The blue-haired girl said, but shook her head "If that's what you want, then my name is Shizuka Aoki."

"Riley White." Her partner followed.

She smiled happily at names being given, "To answer what Riley-chan just said, nya." The girl said brightly, cue eye twitch from the boy "I'm also here to test you for your initiation, nya." her expression then turned stoic "Aoki-san, you and your partner must be ready now."

In response, Aoki pulled out her dust rifle and Riley pulls out a combat knife of sorts.

Yuuki closed her eyes as she pulled out a card from the box as the card itself started to glow with her aura which is light blue. Her aura envelops her body as her appearance had changed.

The girl was now wearing a white long-sleeve coat with a blue collar over a dark blue long-sleeve dress. The skirt is sky blue with a white trim, and now wears black leggings with dark-gray diamonds that cover the sides of the legs and black heels. The coat appears to have a flower-like pattern with 3 petals, and has 2 ribbons attached to it. Her hair was let down and was held back by a white headband, with her tail hidden inside her skirt.

She stared at the two students, both of which had surprised expressions though the boy's was well-hidden.

"I will advance." The blonde summons dual pistols with her aura and starts shooting.

 **Jaune and Pyrrha**

"How long are we gonna walk in this place?" The blonde asked, getting slightly anxious of his surroundings.

"I believe it won't be long now." His partner was quick to reassure him.

"Then you don't have to worry about a thing now that I'm here." A new voice said, which surprised them.

"Who said that?" Jaune asked in alarm.

Pyrrha simply pulls out her weapons in response.

"Jeez, I'm not gonna hurt you." The voice spoke again, this time it came from one of the buildings "Though the headmaster told me to test you guys, so I'll hurt you just a bit."

With those words spoken, a girl walks out of the building she's in.

"Yo!" The girl did a peace sign while grinning "The name's Natalie Lane, and I'm a member of Team KYNO (Kayano), and your upperclassman."

Natalie has short black hair that's styled into a boyish pixie cut, dark brown eyes and a slightly tanned complexion. She has a slightly muscular physique with visible muscles on her arms, but she was fairly well-endowed in her own right.

She wears a gray vest over a sleeveless white dress shirt that exposed parts of her cleavage, black leather pants and black leather boots. The girl also wore red bandanna around her head as it covered her forehead, as well as black fingerless gloves. She carries a large gun on her back, and wears a belt that carried various handguns and blades.

"Any questions?" Natalie asked the two students.

"Yes." The redhead raised her hand "You said that the headmaster has informed you to test us, what do you mean by that?"

"Oh that, it's part of your initiation, duh." The short-haired girl answered the question like it was the most obvious answer in the world "That reminds me, you two better ready yourselves 'cuz I'm not gonna go easy."

Jaune immediately pulled out his sword and pointed it at her, though his legs were shaking badly.

Natalie grinned wildly as she activates her aura which is dark brown in color, as the rocks from her surroundings gathered and piled onto each other as they created a rock golem.

"I'm not gonna do it by myself though." She said, smirking "That would be unfair, right?"

The two students braced themselves for the attacks that will come.

 **Ren and Nora**

"Nora!" The boy called out as he finally caught up with his best friend.

"Ren, you're here!" The ginger haired girl exclaimed happily as she ran towards him and pulled him into a tight hug "Can you please help me?"

The black-haired boy sighed as his friend released him from the hug "What is it, Nora?"

"I'm seeing weird things and someone keeps laughing at me every time I don't hit them with my hammer." Nora explained in a surprisingly timid voice "Can you make the laughing go away?"

As if on cue, laughing comes out of nowhere, until it stopped as a voice spoke "Oh man, looks like my fun's over now that you two are together."

"See!" The girl pointed accusingly at the voice "Someone's laughing at me."

"Sorry about that, you look easy to mess with." The voice chuckled lightly "I'll come out if it makes you feel better."

After those words were spoken, a boy comes out of the shadows as he smirked at the two students.

"May I ask of your name?" Ren asked in a reserved manner.

"Introductions already?" The boy did a mock pout "But I wanna make some friends to play with~!"

"Nope!" Nora shook her head as she sent the boy an accusatory glare "Tell us who you are or I'll break your legs, Mr. Laughing Voice!"

"Hey, I was just playing around." The boy raised his arms in a placating manner "I'll tell you my name, if you put down the hammer."

The ginger-haired girl was about to respond, until her childhood friend placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head, indicating that he's telling her that she should be nice.

In response, the girl puts the hammer on her back and allows herself to listen to what the boy had to say.

"Thank you." The boy smiled as he placed his hands behind his back "For starters, my name is Onyx Kearney and I'm a part of Team KYNO (Kayano), which is led by my girly team leader, Kirino." he smiled at them as he did a mock salute "Furthermore, I'm your senpai!"

Onyx has short spiked black hair with fox ears of the same color, but they have a bit of white on the tips of the ears, sharp dark gray eyes and a slightly pale complexion. He has an average build, but had some muscles on his arms and legs.

He wears a long black jacket with a white fur-trimmed hood over a gray v-neck t-shirt, black jeans and dark gray leather shoes. The boy also wore a belt around his hips that carries twin blades and a couple of throwing knives.

"Senpai, what's that?" Nora asked as she tilted her head in confusion.

"That's what Makoto and Yuuki would say in describing us upperclassmen." Onyx explained shrugging "Though they would also use that to address our upperclassmen."

"What are your intentions for being here?" Ren asked, getting straight to the point.

"My intentions?" The black-haired faunus smirked "The headmaster sent me and my team to test you guys in this place, though we're all split up and I'm assigned to test the both of you."

"So I take it that this is part of our initiation as well." The boy said reaching out for his weapons.

"That's pretty much the gist of it." Onyx shrugged, before smirking as his aura flared which was light gray in color "Since both of you are here now, you have to go through me first if you wanna get those relics."

"That's it?" Nora grabbed her hammer with a cheerful grin "Okay!"

She quickly came forward with the intention to hit her upperclassman with her hammer, but the said upperclassman saw the attack coming from a mile away and simply jumped backwards.

"If you want to break my legs." The fox faunus taunted "Then you have to catch me first."

* * *

 **Emerald Forest**

 **Ruby and Kiyoshi**

The silver-eyed girl was separated from her partner as she continued to avoid getting hit by the beams of aura.

 _"Those beams may not have the amount of power to kill."_ She observed the beams as she kept running _"But I can tell that they can cause some real damage to us, though not fatally."_

With those thoughts in mind, she transferred her aura into her legs before jumping into a tall tree and lands on one of it's branches.

 _"I have to find Kiyoshi, so we can-"_ Her thoughts were cut off as another portal appeared out of nowhere, as it shot another aura beam from behind the tree the girl was taking cover in.

Panicking slightly, Ruby jumps off the branch as she used her aura to create another rope so she could perform the same tactic she used to land from being dropped from an airship.

 _"I have to find a way to lose them fast."_ The girl thought as she proceeded to use her blades to deflect some of the beams, while searching for her partner.

 **To be continued ...**

 **Man, this chapter took long to write, but I'm proud of it. I hope you're prepared for some action in the next chapter along with some insight into the headmaster's choice of assigning the second-year students to test the first-years. Bye, and don't forget to leave a review!**

 **Introduced OCs: Doreen, Nagisa, Travis, Kirino, Yuuki, Natalie and Onyx**

 **Next Chapter: The Upperclassmen (Part 2)**


	11. C8: The Upperclassmen (Part 2)

_**Okay guys. First things first, this chapter will focus on the students battling their upperclassmen in the Emerald Forest, and the students in Forever Fall, but only halfway. Second, fight scenes sound badass in my head, but it's difficult to describe them in writing. Third, these fights will last depending on how each pair would deal with their obstacles and their upperclassmen, so don't mistake them as being rushed or taking too much time. Lastly, don't blame me if some of them are mediocre at best.**_

 _ **Got it? Good.**_

 _ **Into the story!**_

 **Elevator**

 _*EARLIER*_

The three second-year teams were in the elevator as they made their way to the headmaster's office.

"I wonder what Ozpin-sensei is calling us for in this hour, nya." Yuuki yawned as she adjusted her dress.

"Knowing him, I bet it's about the initiation for those freshmen." Doreen said, looking around.

"Indeed it does." Kyosuke said as he appeared on the other side of the elevator as it opened.

"Hayashi-senpai!" Makoto exclaimed in surprise.

The alumni merely smiled in response "The headmaster is waiting for you all."

With that, the second-years immediately entered the the headmaster's office.

"Hello students." Ozpin greeted kindly "I see that you have met one of our new staff members."

"Does this mean that Hayashi-senpai will be teaching us, nya!" The feline faunus said excitedly as her wagged left and right.

"I'm sorry, but no." The former Beacon student said, quickly deflating the blonde's joy "I'll be focusing on teaching the first-year students."

"Is onee-san here as well?" The redhead asked, stepping forward.

Hayashi smiled in response, before speaking up "Yuna's here too, along with Edward."

The headmaster coughed, getting Kyosuke and the students' attention.

"As much as I would not like to interrupt, I have something to tell the second-years, if you don't mind Kyosuke." Ozpin said, getting a nod of response from his former student "Students, I have a task for all you."

* * *

 **Emerald Forest**

 **Ruby and Kiyoshi**

 _"I must lose them."_ The white-haired boy thought as he avoided the aura beams, while deflecting some of them with his spear.

He had been dodging every beam shot at him for more than a few minutes of running and jumping, as well as deflecting.

Shaking his head, he quickly deflected another beam as the spear reached its limit and was now destroyed.

 _"How troubling."_ The boy thought as he transmutes his aura into electricity and then transfers it into his right hand.

Turning around, his finger immediately shoots out electricity which causes a chain reaction with the beams, once one had been hit, and causing them all to get hit with the same attack, due to the nature of his aura.

Kiyoshi looks around as he transfers his aura into his eyes, so he could find his partner within the area he's in.

 _"I can't find her in this area either."_ He mused to himself, his thoughts indicating that he has done this already, while he was still running from the beams.

While the boy is left to his own thoughts, Makoto proceeds to use the aura in his eyes to observe Ruby as he summoned a few more portals to ensure that she would remain vigilant and observant of her surroundings.

 _"As much as I don't wish to subject them to such an obstacle, I believe that this is for their own good."_ The redhead mused thoughtfully, as he continued to test the crimsonette _"I think I'll raise the bar higher, so they can truly come up with strategies under pressure."_

Meanwhile with Ruby, the girl was avoiding every beam shot at her, thanks to her natural speed, which was further strengthened when she trained herself.

 _"I really need to find Kiyoshi."_ She thought as she hid behind another tree _"The amount of aura beams being shot will only prevent me from using my aura abilities."_

As if responding to her thoughts, more portals appear from behind the tree as aura-formed blades came out of them this time.

The girl's eyes widened in shock as she moved to avoid the blades themselves as they pierced through the tree she's hiding behind.

 _"My upperclassman is doing a great job at keeping me on my feet."_ She snarked to herself slightly _"Though he has definitely kept his word on not holding back on us by attacking using his own semblance."_

Sighing, she decided to take a small peek at the portals as more aura blades are being prepared to be shot at her. She narrowed her eyes for a brief second, but one has been shot and it missed her by only a mere centimeter above her head.

Ruby widens her eyes in shock, before letting out a sigh of relief. Surprisingly, she wasn't all that bothered by the blade nearly hitting her as she decided to analyze the blades if they would actually hit her or not, by considering standing in front of the portals.

However, she shook her head before taking action _"No, that would be entirely reckless,"_ she mentally scolded herself _"Not to mention, stupid."_

Instead, the crimsonette uses her aura to form a small plate and throws it within the range of the blade. Unsurprisingly, the plate is immediately destroyed by a single blade as the aura that made the plate returns to her body. Afterwards, she begins thinking over her observations inside her head.

 _"I can't run again, since the blades are faster than the beams."_ That was something she observed closely _"If they were still beams, then I would still have time to outrun them due to their firing speed."_ She cupped her chin thoughtfully _"As for the blades, there is a possibility that they will hit me immediately before I would even start running, I only managed to avoid them once out of pure luck."_

Her aura begins flaring slightly _"They are much faster than the beams, their reaction time is immediate after I threw the plate into their range, while the beams would take slightly longer, but will hit the plate once it's close to hitting the ground."_

She uses her aura to form a blade similar to ones being shot at her, but it was a sword.

"Here goes nothing." The girl muttered under her breath as she quickly stepped into the portals' range, to which a blade is immediately shot at her.

Everything then became slow in her point of view as she narrowed her eyes in concentration. She swore that she could hear her own heartbeat as she did so.

Ruby swings her aura sword, ...

.

.

.

... and manages to deflect the blade before it could reach her, much to her own surprise and relief.

That did not stop the blades from as more are being shot out of the portals.

However, she observed the portals' firing speed enough to deflect more as she stood her ground. The girl continues to deflect the blades, until one was shot out faster than the others.

She felt the urge to smirk as she saw that kind of attack coming as she reaches out her hand and catches the blade effortlessly before it could hit her, while flipping backwards. There are times where she was glad that she had the ability to learn very quickly, as well as her own hidden ability to analyze different attacks.

 _"Now that I have two blades, I think I'll be fine."_ She thought as she uses the blade she caught to deflect even more blades as they were shot at her.

This did not go unnoticed by Makoto as he smiled proudly at her progress.

 _"She's using her aura very skillfully for her age."_ The redhead mused as he watched the girl's aura reserves _"I have no doubt that she will do great things as a huntress, with her intellect and her ability to think rationally in the situation she's in."_

 _"Just one more push should do the trick."_ His aura flared up again.

Ruby was still deflecting the aura blades, while being forced to move quickly in order to avoid getting hit.

The girl's attention was on the portals as an aura-formed spear is immediately shot at her.

Narrowing her eyes, she let the aura blades disappear as she jumped back while transferring some into her arms and legs, as well as lowering her body to the ground backwards.

Everything was in slow motion again as the spear was close to hitting her as she lowered her head backwards. With her aura in her hands, she grabbed the aura spear before it could go over her face.

With the spear in her hand, she reached out her free hand onto the ground. As soon as her hand touches the ground, the girl pushed herself upwards while making sure to move further away from the portals.

Her feet finally touch the ground, but they moved back slightly as they left small marks on the dirt. All while she held the spear with her left hand, while right hand was locked onto the ground as she looked up to see more aura blades coming out of the portals as they were prepared to be shot out of them.

Ruby narrowed her eyes again, as she stood up straight.

More aura blades are shot out of the portal as they were quickly making their way towards the girl.

In response, her left hand passes the spear onto her right, before planting it on the ground.

She then jumps and spins around the aura-formed spear with her right hand firmly holding onto it as she did. As soon as a single blade reached her, she transferred aura into her left leg and uses it to deflect the blade with the motion of kicking it back towards the other blades.

The crimsonette lands on the right side of the spear, takes it out of the ground, passes it to her left hand, and then proceeds to deflect another blade. She then spins it using both hands as more were deflected and then switches between passing it to her right hand and vice versa to deflect every single one.

While the girl was dealing with the blades on her own with the aura spear, Kiyoshi had also encountered the aura-formed blades as he created a light, but very durable shield.

 _"The headmaster certainly has no problems putting his students in situations like this."_ The boy snarked in his head.

Sighing, he creates a short sword to assist his shield in protecting himself against the blades.

He uses the sword to deflect the blades, while using the shield to protect himself from them. The white-haired boy also had to move around for better use of his created weapons.

Unbeknownst to him, some Grimm have been drawn to all the noise made from the boy deflecting and dodging the aura portals. Currently, a pack of Beowolves are stalking on the boy as he protected himself from the blades, unaware that he was slightly surrounded.

One Beowolf was bold enough to straight up attack him, while he had his back turned.

However, Nakamura was never oblivious to their presences from the get-go as he dodged another blade which hit the Beowolf instead.

After the Grimm fell to the ground, all of them came out to attack him at once.

In response, he used the shield to block a slash and then used the sword to slice it's head off. One of them managed to break the shield, but he did the same action with the first Beowolf by dodging another blade that hit the Grimm instead.

Narrowing his eyes dangerously, he used the sword as a throwing knife which hit one of them precisely on the head, while another tried to do a sneak attack. The boy responded by flipping onto it's back, locking his legs around their neck, and then spins around which killed the Beowolf instantly by a simple neck snap.

The last one attempted to charge at him as soon the corpse fell down with the boy on top. He looked behind him to see another portal preparing to shoot another aura blade, to which he immediately ducked as soon as it was fired and killed the Grimm mid-charge.

Kiyoshi raised his head up as he looked around for any Grimm in the area.

As if on cue, a roar is heard as the boy stood up and created aura strings. Stomping feet rang on his ears, as he used said strings to create a long spear.

The boy narrowed his eyes as another Grimm emerged from the bushes, however the Grimm itself wasn't a Beowolf.

It appeared much like the Beowolf, with black fur and bony spikes on their backs and arms, as well as white, bone-like masks with red detailing, but are much larger and stockier.

 _"An Ursa."_ He thought as he observed the bear Grimm carefully.

The Ursa itself slowly growled at the boy, before lunging at him as quickly as it could.

However, the white-haired boy was much quicker as he effortlessly sidestepped and jumped back, to which the Grimm landed on nothing.

Growling, the Ursa turned around and attempted to lunge at him again, only to stop as the boy threw the stringed spear at it's exposed chest, with it's strings rooted at his fingertips.

"I'll make your death as quick as possible." Nakamura said in an eerily quiet tone, as he closed his hand, causing blood to spurt out of the Grimm's mouth before it fell dead on the ground.

He simply closes his eyes, as the spear reverted back into strings as they disappeared.

The boy opens them again, before pulling out a kunai knife and throwing it at a nearby Beowolf that tried to sneak up on him, without bothering to look.

Another Beowolf comes out of the bushes as it tries to slash at him, but is killed by another kunai knife. The white-haired boy's aura flares, as he transmutes it into electricity.

Six more Beowolves come out of the bushes, as Kiyoshi stretches out his arms and uses the electricity to shock and weaken them. He creates a combat knife in his right hand and proceeds to dash forward to kill one of them with quick but fatal slashes, as well as it sticking it onto it's back.

Another one comes to attack, but he quickly kicks them back, pulls the knife out with his left hand, and delivers a few quick slashes to kill it, before turning around and throwing the knife into another one as it died instantly, when it hits the inside of it's mouth when it tries to roar.

He looks behind his back to see more aura portals preparing to fire more blades, before turning his attention to the last three lunging him at once despite their weakened state.

In response, he quickly jumps out of the way, before the aura blades fire and hit the three Beowolves as they felt nothing upon hitting the ground.

The boy quickly dashes into the forest as he flips over another Beowolf, to which it was killed by more aura blades as another portal appeared from behind his back as soon as he started running.

 _"I need to find Ruby fast."_ He thought as used his aura to search for his partner's, while running through the Grimm-infested forest.

Makoto saw his actions, as well as Ruby's and smiled proudly at how they handled themselves _"Even when they're separated, both of them can hold their own individually."_

 _"Nakamura-kun is capable enough to take down Grimm on his own, and is smart enough to use the aura blades as another way to dispatch them."_ The red-haired boy mused thoughtfully _"Rose-san on the hand, observed and analyzed the blades' firing speed and was calm and collected throughout deflecting them upon finding out how fast they go."_

With the second-year student evaluating them in his mind, Ruby deflects the last aura blade as the portals seemed to stop firing them, much to her relief.

However, she knew that she shouldn't relax now due to a low growl coming from the bushes.

 _"That sounds like an Ursa."_ The girl thought as she furrowed her brows.

As if to answer her thoughts, the bushes' leaves began to shake as the growling grew louder.

In response, she held up the aura-formed spear high and concentrated at the bushes.

 _"Thank you for the spear, portal."_ She remarked in her head, before inserting her aura into her arm and threw the spear straight into the source of the growling.

After a while, an Ursa came out of the bushes as it fell dead on the ground, with the spear between it's eyes as it pierced through the bone-like mask.

Growling can be heard right behind her as she turned around slightly.

 _"Tch, another annoyance to deal with."_ Ruby frowned, as her aura began to flare _"I think I have the right ability for it."_

Another Ursa comes out of the bushes, only to find nothing in plain sight.

The Grimm tilted it's head sideways in confusion, before crawling forward to search for it's prey.

While the creature itself is distracted, an empty area suddenly filled itself as a large tree appeared out of nowhere, with the crimsonette hanging on a branch, which is right above the unsuspecting Ursa.

Narrowing her eyes dangerously, she lets go of the branch and lands on the bear Grimm, causing it move around in an attempt to get the girl off it's back.

Her grip was surprisingly tight as she made her way toward it's head and wraps her legs around it's neck, before using her right hand to grab the weapon from her back, which is the sheathed katana.

She closes her eyes, as she uses both hands to unsheathe the blade itself with her legs used to keep herself from falling off the Ursa as it was still moving around uncontrollably.

Ruby holds up her katana with both hands above her head, before stabbing the blade into the Grimm's head as it was immediately killed.

After the Ursa's now-dead body fell with the girl on top, she pulls the blade out of it's skull and swiped it with some blood hitting the ground, before noticing two Beowolves coming out of the bushes.

The two wolf Grimm come into the area to see nothing, but an Ursa corpse in sight as it's body slowly disintegrates, with bits of aura seen on it's head before they disappear in plain sight.

Before they knew it, one is immediately sliced in half horizontally as it's torso hit the ground with it's lower half disintegrating first. The other Beowolf looks around frantically, before getting sliced in half vertically.

A yawn can be heard, as the girl reappears in sight with a light red aura surrounding her body, and a slightly bloody katana blade.

She sighs at her slightly messy weapon and takes out a small white cloth from her skirt, before proceeding to clean her katana.

Meanwhile, Kiyoshi goes through the forest with aura in his eyes as he searched for his partner.

 _"There she is."_ He managed to detect Ruby's aura with his own, before increasing his speed to reach her.

As soon as he reached the area, the boy finds his partner sheathing her weapon, before she notices him with a slightly relieved expression.

"You're here." Ruby said, sighing in relief.

"I apologize for coming late." He bowed at her "I had my own situation to deal with."

The girl simply nodded in acknowledge, before saying "Actually, you came at the right time." her expression turned serious "I have a found a way to get past Himura, without the portals shooting blades at us at every second."

"I see," The boy said putting his hands on his hips "What do you have in mind?"

In response, she raises her right hand as it glowed with a white aura, with an unreadable expression of her own, and then closes her eyes as she touched her partner's chest with her hand.

Nakamura raises an eyebrow at that, before noticing that the aura in her hand slowly but surely goes over his body. Afterwards, the aura itself surrounds his body completely as his partner opens her eyes.

Her expression softened greatly as she released her hand from his chest, before explaining what she did "I can also implant my aura into a person or object, remember?"

The white-haired boy was quiet for a while, before responding "So this is one of your aura abilities then, but how long would it last on me?"

"Either fifteen to twenty minutes at best." She rubbed her arm slightly "However, considering how far we are from Himura, the effects would last until halfway."

Kiyoshi cups his chin as he began thinking over his and Ruby's actions.

"What are you thinking, Kiyoshi?" Ruby asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Our upperclassmen said that we would either use our strength and skill to defeat him in battle, or use our intelligence and wits to get past him." He said, as he stared stoically at the girl "I believe the best course of action is doing the latter."

"With my aura giving us temporary invisiblity, I think we should-" The crimsonette was cut off as the boy immediately grabbed her and placed her on his back as he carried her via a piggyback ride.

"W-What are you doing!?" She exclaimed as she flushed slightly, feeling his hands on the back of her thighs.

"You said that the effects would last for either fifteen to twenty minutes." The boy explained, not bothered by her embarrassed expression "With our current distance and location, the effects would last until halfway by simply walking, and as we reach our upperclassmen by running and using our speed."

"S-So what you're saying is-" The girl was cut off again by her partner.

"The effects wouldn't be limited since you are now holding onto me." His yellow eyes moved to see her on his back "Since we have the same amount of knowledge on aura, I immediately felt twenty minutes beginning to go down, the moment you released your hand from my chest."

"T-That makes sense then." Her previous expression was gone, as it was replaced by one of embarrassment.

"Be sure to hold on tight." Nakamura narrowed his eyes, as he went into a position where he looked like he was about to start a race in track and field.

Ruby said nothing, as held onto him as tightly as she could by wrapping her arms around him, and is unaware that she was pressing her extremely perky breasts against his back.

The boy's cheeks were slightly dusted in pink as he felt her chest from behind, before shaking his head.

 _"I can't afford to be distracted."_ He thought as he lifted the girl slightly and still held her thighs, so he can carry her properly.

 _"Yang must never know about this."_ She shut her own eyes as she is still holding onto him tightly, as she felt her own chin near the top of his head.

"Let's move!" He said, as he jumped into a tree and began jumping branch to branch with his aura inserted into his legs, with the intention of getting past his upperclassman with his partner on his back.

As soon as they began moving with Ruby's invisibility aura in effect, Makoto had noticed that he couldn't detect his underclassmen's auras, even after transferring his own into his eyes for further enhancement.

 _"That's weird,"_ He mused as he took off his glasses for a moment after waiting to sense their auras for nearly ten minutes _"I can't detect nor sense their auras at all."_

With those thoughts in mind, his scroll rang as the redhead answers it.

"Hello?" Himura answered, before his eyes widen slightly in surprise "Ozpin-sensei?"

The boy immediately put his scroll on loud speaker as the headmaster's voice can be heard clearly by him "Mr. Himura, you have done a splendid job on your part, because the students have already gone past you two minutes ago."

"Oh?" The red-haired boy was surprised before asking "Might I ask how they did it?"

He felt the headmaster smile in response as he answered "Miss Rose used her aura mask her presence, as well as her own aura itself." the man paused for a moment before continuing "She has also concealed Mister Nakamura's presence and aura."

"What does that mean, sir?" Makoto asked curiously.

"That kind of ability allows her, and those affected by it, to be completely undetected by both the Grimm, and the humans and faunus, regardless if they have the ability to detect another person's aura." Ozpin finished, before ending the call.

 _"In other words, their presence is entirely masked with that ability, with little to no chance at being detected by my own aura nor the Grimm themselves, unless she deactivates it."_ The redhead mused, cupping his own chin _"A smart move, if I say so myself."_

With the upperclassman left to his own thoughts, Kiyoshi and Ruby are still concealed by the latter's aura ability, as they finally went past their first obstacle.

"I recommend that you hold on tight for a little longer." The boy spoke up, getting his partner's attention "I will bring us to the ruins, with my speed."

"Okay, I trust you on it." She nodded, as she still held on to her partner.

The white-haired boy began jumping through the branches as he made his way to the ruins, with the crimsonette still on his back.

 **Shun and Miyazaki**

Sounds of clashing weapons can be heard, as the two students were fighting their upperclassman head-on.

Miyazaki dodged another slash as she jumped back to avoid Doreen's barrage of attacks from her scythe.

"What's wrong, snow girl?" The dark-haired girl smirked at the faunus "Getting tired?"

In response, the younger girl narrowed her eyes as she used her semblance to create another ice sword. She looked at the second-year for a brief moment, before moving forward to strike.

The older girl merely shook her head in amusement as she began blocking hits from the two swords with her own scythe.

Meanwhile, Shun grunted as he blocked a hit from the shadow clone, before proceeding to fire the dust cannons from his gauntlets.

He had been trying to keep his distance from it's ruthless attacking, but the clone was smart enough to see through his movements and advanced again.

 _"This is getting us nowhere."_ The boy thought as he blocked hits again, while trying to distance himself from the clone's attacks.

 _"Then why don't you let me take over for now, dumbass."_ A voice said inside his head, as he gritted his teeth in response.

 _"I'm not gonna do that, I don't want to hurt anyone."_ He thought biting his lower lip.

 _"Relax, I'll hold back and I'm not gonna kill anymore, honest."_ The voice said in a reassuring tone _"Well, except for those Grimm, since those things have to go."_

The brown-haired boy was quiet for a moment before sighing _"Fine, but please control your strength."_

Chuckling can be heard in his head, as the voice spoke again _"You worry way too much about me kid, you can trust me to keep this fight from getting bloody."_

 _"Okay, I'll trust you for now."_ Shun closed his eyes as his body was glowing a light gray aura _"Shin."_

As soon as the glow disappears, the boy's messy hair turned slightly spiky with his bangs covering his left eye. The right eye opens itself as the eye color was amber with shades of red, which was the same one last night.

This did not go unnoticed by his partner, as she stops to see him suddenly standing still on the spot, with the clone stopping as well under Doreen's command.

"Shun?" Miyazaki asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.

In response, "Shun" chuckled deeply as he looked over to the white-haired faunus.

"Sorry toots, I'm not that guy in the moment." The boy smirked as he pointed a thumb at himself "For now, you can call me Shin."

"Shin?" The wolf faunus was honestly confused.

"Well, long story short, I'm his other self!" He smiled, lacing his hands behind his head.

 _"I'll have to question that later."_ She thought, before focusing on Doreen again "I believe we should focus on our opponents first."

"Alright then, let's do this!" Shin grinned wildly, cracking his knuckles on his gauntlets..

Afterwards, the boy was instantly in front of the shadow clone with his fist aiming for it's stomach.

"Surprise bitch!" He exclaimed, before punching the clone in the stomach as it was sent flying backwards and hitting a tree, much to the older girl's surprise.

The dark-haired girl whistled as she allowed the clone to disappear out of sight.

She turned to the boy and said "You have some serious guts there, I like that." she smirked afterwards as she continued "However, can you and your friend handle this?"

With the snap of her fingers, multiple shadow entities appear from the shadows of the trees as they all surrounded the two students.

"Boys, you know what to do." Doreen said, crossing her arms as the shadows attacked.

The two students had their weapons and aura ready, before attacking the shadow forms themselves.

Miyazaki's aura flared as the shadows moved in closer. She then closes her eyes and jumps up from the ground as soon as they reach her. The shadows look up as the girl was spinning in the air, as she opened her eyes and glared at her opponents.

Upon reaching the ground, she steps on the ground with one foot, which created ice as it froze the shadows.

With the other foot on the ground, she creates ice twin blades in both hands and speeds forward to break the ice the shadows were frozen in, to which it eliminates them.

She turns around to see more shadows coming to attack her, the white-haired girl moves forward to slash at each shadow one by one as they got close.

The girl then looks up to see another shadow attempting to attack her from above, to which she quickly pulls out one of her handguns and shoots the entity straight through the head as it disappeared afterwards upon hitting the ground.

More shadows attempt to attack her as she stared directly at them, she then pulls out her other handgun and waits for them to approach her even further.

As soon as they did, she points one directly at one of them and pulls the trigger, eliminating it as it disappeared.

Narrowing her eyes dangerously, she quickly moves forward to shoot at another one and then shoots another as it tried to attack her from the side.

She turns her head slightly as she shot at another and all the at once while dodging their blows.

Another shadow comes forward to attack her, to which she jumps back in response while shooting it in the head.

Yukino looks around to see the last of the shadows up against her, as there were possibly fifty of them as they surround her.

Her response, she immediately jumps up as they immediately charged at her all at once.

The shadows looked up to see the girl in the air as she glared down at them with her entire body glowing with her aura.

She immediately creates a thick blizzard and combines ice with the move, as the move itself froze all of the shadows in the area.

Closing her eyes, Miyazaki lands on the ground unscathed as she looked around at the frozen figures of the entities she fought.

The girl raised her hand in the air and snapped her fingers, causing the all of the ice to shatter around her, which eliminated her opponents for good.

Meanwhile, Shin was having a wonderful time as he was slaughtering shadows left and right without utilizing the gauntlets.

One tried to grab him, but the boy grabbed it's arm and flashed it a vicious smile before tearing it off it's body. Another tried to lunge at him, but he sighed as he casually grabbed it's neck before crushing it along with the entity itself.

"Man, you guys are getting boring." He admitted, as he deployed the dust cannons and shot each shadow getting close to him effortlessly.

As if on cue, a large shadow holding an enormous club comes out of one of the tree's shadows as it stared menacingly at him with an unseen glare.

In response, he smirked as he walked up to the entity.

"Alright big guy, I want to see what you can do to me." Shin said grinning crazily.

The shadow responds by sending him back a few meters using it's club as the boy was crashing through some trees in the process.

He stood up from the blow as he grinned madly at the strength displayed by that hit.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" The boy laughed, his aura flaring wildly "I'm gonna enjoy beating your ass!"

With that, he immediately appeared in front of the entity and delivered a punch that sent it back by a good distance, before it stood up and charged at him with the club in their hand.

 _"Shin, be careful out there!"_ Shun's voice was heard inside his own head.

 _"Relax, I got this!"_ His other self grinned as his opponent got closer.

As the entity reached him, it raised it's club and immediately moved it to hit the boy.

However, Shin somehow caught the weapon itself using his left hand, before smiling smugly at the shadow as he forcefully removed the club itself with both hands and threw it away as if it were a mere toy.

"Not so tough now you-" He was cut off by the entity slamming their fist down on him.

 _"Shin!"_ Shun cried out in worry.

"Damn, that actually hurt you piece of crap." The boy snarled as he lifted up the shadow's fist, completely unscathed "I'll show you true pain!"

As he said that, his opponent uses both fists in an attempt to crush him.

Unfortunately, the boy was quick to notice it as he caught one fist with his left hand, and the other with his right.

"Fun fact, I always keep my promises no matter what." He smirked sinisterly as he ripped both arms off the entity's body, as the entity itself immediately disappears upon hitting the ground with a loud thud.

This had drawn out even more as they tried to ambush him.

Shin's smirk grew wider at incoming shadows, before turning the gauntlets back into knuckles and putting them in his pocket.

 _"What are you gonna do?"_ Shun asked warily.

 _"I don't need them for now."_ His other self answered quickly _"All I want right now is to kill them with my bare hands!"_

There was a sigh heard in response, but he could feel there was a nod of permission.

As the shadows reach him, he instantly disappeared from the spot, which confused them greatly. Unfortunately for them, they turn around and noticed that he was grinning darkly at them with his bangs covering his eyes.

"Hello!" He said, instantly appearing next to one of them, before snapping it's neck.

His visible eye flashed ominously, before he began slaughtering each shadow one by one.

One was grabbed by the head as he ripped it out of it's body, another was killed as he dug his foot through it's chest, and one was unlucky enough to get it's limbs torn off it's body for attempting to run away.

The boy laughed in complete bliss as he was oblivious to the disturbed glances from his partner and upperclassman.

Yukino shook her head afterwards, and immediately went forward to grab him by his hand to pull him close to her as they ran towards a bright area.

As soon as they reached the bright spot, the girl puts her hands on her hips as she stared at him with a stern expression.

"What?" Shin was confused as he tilted his head sideways.

"I would like a meeting with Shun please?" She requested in an even tone, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Alright, my business is done around here." He shrugged, before his aura glowed throughout his body as his hair was reverted back to it's original style, both of eyes being visible again, and his eyes regaining their sky blue color.

Shun had a look of nervousness as he spoke up in his original tone "Um, I'll explain everything after this initiation."

That was all it took to get her to nod in acceptance, before a shadow appeared out of nowhere as it sped it's way towards them.

Miyazaki stared indifferently at the entity as it was killed the moment it entered the area they're in.

"I propose that we should sneak past her." She said, looking at the boy "After all, when she said that we would have to get past her, she wasn't being specific on how." she crossed her arms "Which means that there is way of getting through her, without engaging in combat."

"What do you have in mind?" Fujimori asked, eager to hear what his partner was planning.

"First," Ice was created from her feet as she said that "What is your semblance?"

"Oh." He was slightly taken back by it, but responded nevertheless "It's called Possession."

"Then second, you would have to test that semblance on this Ursa." Yukino stepped aside, as a near frozen Ursa was came into view, with most of it's body encased in ice, except for the head.

"W-What!" The brown-haired boy was now taken back greatly "A-Are you crazy! I've never tested my semblance on anything else, let alone a Grimm!"

"I'm not saying that your semblance is special, but I simply need you to test that semblance to see if it can affect our natural enemy." The girl said as she crossed her arms.

The boy looked at the Grimm and then looked at his partner, before sighing.

"Fine, I'll try." He gulped as he went in front of the Ursa itself.

Afterwards, his eyes glowed a bright yellow as he stared into the Grimm's eyes, before his body immediately fell to the ground.

The wolf faunus was actually surprised by this and quickly went towards his body.

"Shun, what happened?" She shook his body slightly "Shun?

"I'm right here." Miyazaki turned to see Ursa looking directly at her.

"Shun?" She walked towards the encased Grimm warily "Is that ... you?"

"Yeah, but this is pretty surreal in my opinion." The bear Grimm looked at itself "Would you mind breaking this ice?"

"Why should I?" Her eyes narrowed warily.

"Look, I'm not gonna attack you, I promise." Shun nodded in the Grimm's body.

She was still wary, but consented and immediately broke the ice.

To her surprise, the Ursa was not attacking her at all, as it simply walked towards the boy's body, before poking it with it's claw.

"Okay, I'm pretty sure it's the same effect as before." Shun nodded using the Grimm's body as a vessel.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked, out of curiosity rather than suspicion.

"Every time I use my semblance on someone, my soul would immediately leave my body in order to possess them." He explained solemnly "Though I'm surprised this can apply to the Grimm too."

"Is that the consequence to having such power?" The white-haired girl asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yup, my body is pretty much on it's own once I leave it alone after possessing someone." The boy nodded "That's why I'd usually find someplace secure so I can keep it safe after activating it."

"Do you want me to carry your body then?" Yukino asked rhetorically.

"Of course, who knows what's out there!" He shook his head inside the Grimm "Plus, I'll be stuck in this body for the rest of my life if anything bad happened to my own."

Without saying anything, the girl picks up his body from the ground and carries it on her back via a piggyback ride, with the addition of freezing parts of herself and the body to keep the latter from falling off.

"Alright, so I have to distract her then?" The boy needed a confirmation, to which she responds by nodding silently "Okay then, I can do that!"

Meanwhile, Doreen was walking as she headed for the area where her underclassmen are having a meeting of their own.

 _"Let's see what they have up their sleeve."_ She thought, before sensing a threat in the area.

In response, the girl pulled out her scythe as she prepared herself.

As if on cue, an Ursa appears out of nowhere as it growled while charging at the girl.

"An Ursa, huh?" She muttered under her breath before proceeding to attack.

To her surprise, the Grimm jumped back as soon as she got close and tried to circle around her. To add more to it, she noticed two figures trying to sneak past the fight itself.

"Nice try!" The dark-haired girl summoned a shadow and ordered it to attack them.

However, when shadow attacked them, the two figures shattered, much to her shock.

Unbeknownst to her, the Ursa's eyes flashed for a brief second before it roared and tried to slash her with it's claws.

She did not fail to notice it, as she dodged the claws and ordered the shadow to quickly dispatch the Grimm itself.

Her scroll then rings as she answered it without hesitation.

"Hello?" Doreen said, before straightening her posture "Professor Ozpin, what can I do for you?" she nods as soon as she gets a response, before activating the loud speaker.

"Miss Sullivan, I believe your underclassmen have passed the test as they have gotten past you." The headmaster said, getting a surprised look from the older girl.

"How did they do it?" She was slightly eager to know how they got past her without any problems.

"Let's just say, they both used their semblances as a way to distract you." Ozpin answered in an amused tone, before the call abruptly ends.

 _"Their semblances, eh?"_ The girl smirked as she looked behind her _"I look forward to see what those can do, especially the users."_

With their upperclassman left behind proud at what they did, Miyazaki stopped as she released her partner off her back.

"We have gone far enough away from her." She spoke up, surveying the area.

Shun coughed as he stood up from the ground "Good to know."

"Admittedly, your semblance was quite useful if say so myself." The girl admitted, as she turned to look at him.

"Thanks." He smiled, before it turned into a smirk "Has anyone ever told you that your body's pretty soft, especially your chest."

His partner rolled her eyes in response as she spoke "Like I said before, it would take more than that to truly embarass me." she cupped her chin "Though I did freeze your hands as soon as one of them cupped my breast."

That got the boy to blush himself as he spoke "S-Sorry."

 **Lily and Ryoma**

"Shit!" The boy cursed as he ran while carrying the rabbit faunus bridal style "Fucking run!"

"B-But you're carrying me!" His partner squeaked as her face was red as a tomato.

"I ain't gonna leave ya running behind me!" Ryoma shouted as he ran from one of the water golems.

"O-Okay." Lily said quietly, wishing to curl up into a ball.

He turned right as he hid behind a large tree, where he would catch his breath while putting down the petite girl.

"Please don't push yourself for me." The brown-haired faunus said in worry for her friend.

The slightly red-haired boy chuckled in response as he said "You don't have to worry about me, 'cuz that'll take more than that to keep me exhausted."

Afterwards, his expression turned serious "How do we fight her, because I'm pretty sure one of her things are gonna find us any second now."

"Actually, she said that she would have to test us." The faunus cupped her chin in thought "She didn't specify on how she would test us, which could be any aspect whether its strength or intelligence."

When she moves out of her thoughts, she noticed that her partner is gone.

"Ryoma?" Lily said tilting her head in confusion.

"Yo, water chick!" His voice prompted her to move out of the tree.

"What can I do for you?" Nagisa asked, as she was still standing on top of one of the golems.

 _"Ryoma, please be careful."_ The girl thought worriedly.

"How are ya gonna test us and shit!" Ryoma demanded, shaking his fist.

"That is a good question." The blonde faunus put a hand to her mouth "This test will be about how you and your partner will get through me in order to get the relics."

 _"'Get through me'?"_ The petite faunus mused thoughtfully as she hid behind the tree again _"If that's the case, then we don't have to engage her in combat in order to pass this test."_ she looked out of the tree for a brief second _"Which means that sneaking past her is the safest option available."_

"Bring it on, water chick!" Her partner's voice boomed as he pulled out his sword "I ain't scared of ya or your things!"

"Ryoma, wait!" She tried to call out for him, but it was too late as the golem slammed the boy back by more than a few meters "Ryoma!"

As soon as she reached the area where her partner is lying, she noticed his bruises and injuries as he groaned from the spot he was in.

"Hold on!" Lily activates her aura as she began transferring her own to heal her partner "I'll transfer some of my aura into you."

Afterwards, the boy groaned again as he opened his eyes, only to notice his partner suddenly collapsing on top of him.

"Lily!" Ryoma grabbed her body and shaked it "Hey wake up!"

In response, she opened her eyes as she smiled tiredly at him.

"I managed to heal your injuries." The girl said, still smiling "But at the cost of my own aura and energy."

"Shit." He gritted his teeth as he spoke "Why did you do that for me, my own aura coulda healed them on their own."

"It would've been a slow process, since you had bruises all over your body." She explained, before her smile turned into a sad frown "I'm sorry that this is all what I can do."

"Bullshit, you don't have to say sorry about it." Yukimura stood up and helped his partner up "I was just being reckless, and you helped me because of it." he gave her an encouraging smile "What's the plan?"

Lily looked at him for a few minutes before responding "First, we don't have to fight her in order to get through," she continued "Second, she uses the golems to force us to think strategically under pressure," the petite faunus managed to stand on her own "Lastly, I think sneaking past her is the safest option."

"Is that what she uses those things for?" The tall boy pointed his thumb at the direction of the two golems.

"That's what I observed a while ago." She admitted.

"Alright then, I'll distract 'em while you run like hell." Ryoma said bluntly, getting a look of shock from the much shorter girl.

"W-What!" The rabbit faunus shook her head "Y-You can't do that, what if you get hurt again."

"Like I said, I was bein' reckless back there." He grinned in reassurance "I have a plan of my own."

His partner wasn't convinced by what he said, but decided to go along with it.

"Fine." She sighed, looking at him "But please be careful."

"You don't have to worry 'bout that!" The boy grinned, giving a thumbs up.

 _*A FEW MINUTES LATER*_

Nagisa and her golems were standing on the spot, as they patiently waited for the two students to show themselves.

"Hey!" She turned her attention to Ryoma, as he stood proudly with his sword unsheathed, as well as being ready for a fight "I'm ready, you big ugly bastards!"

"Let me down." The fish faunus ordered, as the golem puts her down.

"You gonna fight me?" He smirked, pointing his sword at her.

"Indeed I will." The older girl smiled as the golems reverted back into seeds.

 _"Perfect."_ The boy thought, narrowing his eyes _"Though, I expected to fight those things too."_

Mizushima then takes off her cloak as it further revealed the body she had underneath, much to Ryoma's embarrassment.

 _"Dammit, I ain't gonna be distracted by her body."_ He shook his head to remove the blush on his face.

"I will advance." In an instant, she is immediately front of him as the two students' weapons clashed.

The girl spins her trident as it summoned multiple water blades, before she shoots them at him, prompting her opponent to deflect them while dodging at the same time.

It gave her the opportunity to attack him directly, as she sped forward.

He reacted by tranferring his aura to his left leg and turning it into wind as he attempted to kick her, to which she dodges by jumping slightly backwards though the wind from the kick contributed to her being sent back slightly.

Nagisa creates multiple geysers, to which Ryoma actively dodged each one before they could blast him into the sky.

He then clashes weapons with his upperclassman again, as he did attacks and slashes with his sword, to which she blocks them with her trident.

Ryoma charges forward in an attempt to send her back, while attacking with his weapon.

The upperclassman on the other hand, effortlessly blocks his attacks, before sending him backwards by hitting him with the blunt end of her weapon.

 _"Dammit, no choice."_ He activates his aura as the wind slowly surrounds his body.

She raised an eyebrow, but shrugged as she activated her own as well.

Without saying a word, the boy transfers the wind into his sword as he prepared to attack, with the girl doing the same with her weapon as well.

He raised his sword above his head as the winds were growing stronger.

She pointed her trident at him as water swirls around the weapon itself.

Yukimura slams down his weapon as the wind was blasted towards the girl.

Mizushima blasts swirling water towards the boy.

However, both dodged the attacks sent by each other, as Ryoma's attack destroyed a group of trees, while Nagisa's was strong enough to uproot some trees.

All of the sudden, a light green barrier appeared around the fish faunus as she was trapped by said barrier, much to the boy's shock.

"Ryoma!" He noticed that Lily was behind making the barrier "Let's go!"

"Gotcha!" Her partner nodded as he sheathed his sword, and immediately followed her, leaving behind a trapped upperclassman.

"The barrier will last for ten minutes, and I'm sorry for trapping you!" The rabbit faunus apologized from the distance.

In response, Nagisa smiled and shook her head in amusement, before she hears her scroll ringing from her skirt.

Curious, she pulled out the scroll and answered it "Hello?"

Afterwards, the girl smiled "Professor Ozpin, it's nice to hear from you."

"Okay." The faunus put her scroll on loud speaker, as the headmaster spoke.

"You have done well in testing them under pressure, especially Mr. Yukimura as he buyed time for his partner to escape by engaging you in combat." He said from the scroll "Though you made quite the entrance by using your semblance to create rain."

Rather than responding, she giggled in amusement as she stared at the direction the two students were going.

 _"Well done you two, I look forward to see what both of you can do as hunters."_ Mizushima thought, smiling warmly at the thought of her underclassmen doing great things.

As the girl was left to her own thoughts, Lily and Ryoma have finally come to a stop as they thought over what had happened.

"I gotta admit," The boy smiled at his partner "What you did back there, was pretty badass."

She smiled gently in response "It was nothing, I just didn't want to leave you behind."

 **Ezra and Kiara**

The cat faunus had attempted to slash at the transformed bear faunus with her arms as they transformed into blades.

Her partner moved in to assist her, but was knocked back slightly by the strength of his opponent's punch.

"Seriously, is that all you got?" Travis asked, out of curiosity rather than boredom.

Ezra responds by charging at him with electricity crackling at his sword.

In an accidental response, he pushes Kiara back with his hand holding his axe and accidentally hits the armored boy so hard that he sent flying backwards and into the sky.

"Oops!" The transformed boy had his eyes widen in shock, before chains wrap around his body.

"You're gonna pay for that!" He turned around to see his underclassman scowling at him as her left arm shot out thick chains.

The bear faunus moved his body or used his strength in an attempt to break though the chain, but they were surprisingly durable as the girl was rooted in her spot.

 _"These chains are prepared to fight against opponents like him."_ She said in her mind, as she didn't bother to say those words out loud.

All of the sudden, growling gets her attention as her anger attracted a pack of Beowolves.

She narrowed her eyes dangerously at them as she used her upperclassman as a weapon against the wolf Grimm by using her strength to pull him directly towards them.

"Hey, what are you doing!" Travis shouted as he was slammed into one, killing it instantly due to his current body size and weight _"Though I have to admit, she's pretty strong for her size."_

Kiara does this repeatedly until she removes the chains from the older boy, and then charging at the last one with her right hand blades before proceeding to mutilate the Beowolf itself, as it howled in agony while it was being stabbed.

In the nick of time, Ezra had returned but witnessed his partner dealing with the last wolf Grimm in such a brutal manner.

 _"I believe it's for the best that I don't question what she's doing."_ He shook his head, before making his way towards the cat faunus.

"Are you okay?" She turned to see the boy, looking partially unscathed.

"I've been through worse." The raven-haired girl shrugged, but smiled in response.

"I'm not done yet!" Both turn around to see Travis splitting his battleaxe into two and using them as dual weapons, as he charged at them.

They looked at each other, before deciding to double team the bear faunus.

Ezra speeds towards the transformed boy as dodged every attack from the latter's axes, all while inflicting considerable damage to him.

With a small smirk, the upperclassman slammed one axe into the ground, which causes an small earthquakes, and results in the younger boy staggering slightly in his movements.

He took this chance to attack him with slashes of his weapon, causing some small damage on his underclassman's armor.

Unfortunately, he never noticed the other one slowly wrapping chains around him due to his attention being focused on her partner.

Speaking of the other one, the girl's aura was glowing as it was dark gray in color as she used it to make her chains longer.

The black-haired boy noticed a small group of Ursas behind the cat faunus, before quickly moving in to dispatch them as quickly as he could, which lead to him using the sword as a boomerang to kill the last one.

Kiara uses her chains to pull Travis towards a large tree before using her aura to produce more of them, as she wrapped him around said tree until he was completely bound with her releasing parts of it off her metallic arm.

Afterwards, Ezra returned and said "I believe we should go now, but do release him from tree once we get far enough."

"Fine by me." His partner nodded, as they quickly went towards the next part of their initiation.

"Damn, I didn't expect them to defeat me that easily." The bear faunus thought, as transformed back into his original form, which allowed him to move around slightly in the chains "Though I do suck at keeping promises."

After a few minutes have passed, the chains disappear and freed the upperclassman from the tree, as his scroll rang as soon as he was on ground.

Raising an eyebrow, he answered the scroll "Hello."

In an instant, the bulky boy fumbled slightly with his scroll upon hearing who was calling him "Professor Ozpin, how are you today!" he then puts the scroll on loud speaker, upon putting it to his ear again.

"Hello Mr. Jones, while I commend you for doing your best, I am somewhat disappointed that you did not give your underclassmen a challenge." The headmaster said coolly "Though your semblance is somewhat simple compared to your comrades'."

He chuckled in response, rather than being offended "I understand that sir, that's why my team would always trust me to inflict brute strength on the Grimm."

"It is understandable to me as well." Ozpin said in a slightly amused tone "I believe you should go back to your team now, since your task is now finished."

"Got it." He turns off the scroll, and makes his way down the forest.

Travis then smiled as his underclassmen came to mind "Gotta admit, those guys have some of the skills in becoming a hunter."

As the boy was making his way back to his team, Ezra and Kiara stopped to take a small break.

"Our opponent was rather easy to beat, though his strength is nothing to scoff at." The boy's armor transformed back into a sword.

"Yeah," His partner nodded in agreement "It makes you wonder what his other members are like."

"I think we'll find out about that once we finish initiation." He said, before standing up and reaching his hand out to her "Alright, we should get a move on now."

"Right." The raven-haired faunus smiled before her metallic hand grabs her partner's flesh hand as she stood up and quickly followed him.

* * *

 **Forever Fall**

 **Weiss and Blake**

"We have to keep moving!" The white-haired heiress shouted, as she and Blake avoided getting hit by the light arrows.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" The hidden cat faunus shouted back.

As if on cue, a light arrow is shot and barely misses Weiss' head, to which she squeaked in response.

"I'm sorry about that, but I still have to test you two." Velvet appears in sight with the copied bow in hand.

In response, the black-haired girl pulls out Gambol Shroud, while the white-haired one pulls out Myrtenaster.

The rabbit faunus pulls out the bow and begins shooting, prompting the two girls to get to cover.

Blake uses the gun part of her weapon and starts fires off a few rounds in an attempt to force her upperclassman back.

However, it didn't work as the brown-haired girl suddenly appears behind her and delivers a swift kick, which sent her slightly backwards.

When she starts moving, she noticed that her movements were slowing down, to which she turns around to see Weiss using a time-dilation glyph.

Narrowing her eyes in focus, Velvet pulls out the bow and points a light arrow in the sky, much to the two girls' fear.

As if to make things worse, the faunus shoots the arrow into the sky and it creates a glyph, once again causing another rain of light arrows, as well as the heiress' glyph breaking from one of them.

"Move!" Blake ordered, as she and Weiss ran from the arrows again.

The older girl took this opportunity to test their physical prowess as she leaps forward with her aura in her legs and delivers a side kick to the heiress' back. This forces the black-haired faunus to use kusari-gama mode, to which Velvet easily dodged every hit.

Velvet then pulls out the bow again to shoot, but Blake stopped her with the current mode of her weapon. However, that didn't stop as she flipped backwards and used her hands to balance herself, as she fires the bow and arrow using her feet.

The raven-haired girl was taken back slightly by that, and proceeded to dodge the arrow shot at her, along with all the other falling arrows.

Weiss stood up again, and notices the one-sided battle between the two faunus, though Blake had hers concealed.

 _"I must assist her."_ She summons a glyph, but it was easily destroyed by another falling arrow.

This forces her to take cover under a tree, but it did very little to shield her from the light arrows that fell from above.

 _"Ugh, this is getting us nowhere!"_ The heiress groaned in her mind _"What's the point of this kind of test!?"_

As if to answer her question, the cat faunus shouted "What's the point of this kind of test!?"

 _"Did she just ask my question for me?"_ Weiss was honestly confused by it.

"Oh, is that so?" Velvet said, after leaping over her underclassman and landing to stand still in order to explain properly "Actually, the real test is that you would have to find a way to get through us in order to get the relics, understood?"

 _"So that's why the headmaster sent them to test us."_ That did not go unnoticed by the white-themed girl _"If she said that we would have to find a way to get through her, then that means we wouldn't need to engage in combat."_ she cupped her chin thoughtfully _"We just need to find a way to get around her."_

With her thoughts lined up, she pulls out raw ice dust from her pouch and immediately throws it on the ground, creating a small smokescreen made of ice and snow.

The two other girls seemed to be affected by it, which gave Weiss the opportunity to grab Blake and quickly escape their upperclassman before the smokescreen clears.

After a few seconds, Velvet's sight is now clear, only to see that her underclassmen are no longer in sight.

 _"Looks like their heading towards the guys."_ The girl mused thoughtfully _"But since two of the new students managed to get around me, then I've already done my job."_ she than looked at the hard light copy of the bow as it slowly disappeared out of sight _"Though I should leave the bow and arrow fighting to Kirino, since he's better at it."_

Suddenly, her scroll ringed as it got her attention, before she answered it.

 **Cayden and Magnar**

The two male students finally came to a stop as the arrows finally stopped, as well as entering another open area.

"I'll survey the area to check if the girls are far from us." The silver-haired faunus said, before jumping on a tree.

"Alright then, I'll stay here and keep a look out as well." The bull faunus said, scratching his goatee.

After a few minutes of waiting, Coco appeared in sight as slowly strutted towards the redhead with a confident smirk.

"Okay then big guy, let's see what you got." The fashionista said, as she readied her weapon with her aura flaring as the color was light brown.

"I'll have you know that I do not wish to hurt a lady." Magnar slowly reached for his weapon "But I will make sure to go easy on you."

"A gentleman, I like that." The brown-haired girl took off her sunglasses, revealing that her pupils are glowing red as it went along with her smirk "Unfortunately, that won't be enough to get those relics if you don't go through me first."

 _"What's with the lass' eyes?"_ The bulky boy narrowed his eyes.

In an instant, the girl appeared in front of him and slammed her handbag into his stomach, causing the boy to be sent backwards, much to his surprise.

 _"What was that?"_ He was too surprised by the hit to notice the girl instantly appearing behind him.

With another smirk, Coco spun as she hit the boy again which sent him flying again with a surprising amount of strength from the handbag.

 _"What's happening?"_ The red-haired faunus suddenly felt weak, as his upperclassman hit him from the sides as he couldn't find the strength to fight back _"Why is my aura going down?"_

Unbeknownst to the two students, Cayden observed the one-sided fight with a calculating expression.

The silver-haired boy had both of his eyes visible as his right eye was crimson red, compared to his left eye as it's eye color is gray.

 _"It seems that her semblance is Aura Drain."_ He observed, musing thoughtfully _"It allows her to slowly drain her opponent's aura with every hit she inflicts on them."_ the boy pulled out his boy _"Magnar isn't fighting back, because his aura is already being drained by his opponent, which is the effect of the semblance itself."_

 _"He requires my assistance."_ With great concentration, he fires a white aura arrow, coated with invisibility, as it hits the already drained bull faunus _"That arrow should be able to boost his aura greatly."_

All of the sudden, the adult-looking boy's strength returns as he slowly got back up.

 _"I don't know what happened, but I use my semblance now."_ Magnar's aura flared as it's color was auburn red, before his skin turned dark gray with a stony texture _"This should be enough for me to withstand her blows."_

"Using your semblance, I guess we're now even." Coco smirked, before she and her underclassman clash weapons.

The bull faunus' sword had the edge, due to it's toughness and superior strength, as it sent the fashionista slightly backwards.

 _"Guess it's time to use this gun."_ Her handbag suddenly transforms into a minigun as it was pointed at the redhead.

In response, Magnar prepared himself for the onslaught of bullets coming his way.

The brown-haired girl then shoots her weapon, which did very little damage to her opponent as he charged at her while deflecting every bullet getting close to his weak spots.

Suddenly, raw ice dust is shot into the ground as it created another smokescreen that blinded both students.

"Magnar, we have to go!" Blake appeared by his side and grabbed his hand, as he was pulled out of the area before Coco would get her vision back.

After a few seconds, the smokescreen clears and the upperclassman realized that she was all by herself.

 _"Huh, whoever did that was pretty smart."_ Coco smiled, at the method her underclassmen used.

"Coco!" She turns to Velvet as she was waving her scroll.

"What is it Velv?" The fashionista asked, reverting the minigun back into a handbag.

"Professor Ozpin just called me to let us know that we tested the students well enough." The rabbit faunus informed.

"Eh, I can accept that." She walked towards her friend and puts an arm around her shoulders "Come on, let's find Fox and Yatsu."

"Right!" Velvet quickly agreed, as they went into the forest.

Meanwhile, the four students were taking a small break, after the sudden event that they had to go through.

"The headmaster certainly doesn't pull any punches this year." Cayden remarked, crossing his arms as his bangs covered his right eye again.

"Agreed, but we should move now." Weiss said firmly "There's no telling what's ahead of us."

The other two nodded in agreement as all four of them immediately made their way to another part of the initiation.

 **To be continued ...**

 **Okay, this is my longest chapter so far with 11k words. I hope some of you aren't disappointed with the way I wrote the action scenes, since character interactions are what I do best. Furthermore, the next part will focus mostly on the students at Mountain Glenn, with some interesting turn of events. I'll see you, when I see you :D**

 **Next Chapter: The Upperclassmen (Part 3)**


	12. C8: The Upperclassmen (Part 3)

_**Alright! Time to give focus to the students on Mountain Glenn as they try to find a way to get through their senpais. Like I said in the previous chapter, these scenes will only last depending on how each pair would get through their test as quickly as they can. That's all I'm going to say, so on to the story!**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

 **Ozpin's Office**

 _*EARLIER*_

"EH!?" Yuuki gaped in shock "You want us to fight our kohai, nya?!"

"I did not say that you have to fight them." Ozpin stated calmly, smiling in amusement "I simply ask that you to test them, as another part of their initiation."

"I see, then we shall do our task, Ozpin-sensei." Makoto nodded, understanding the task.

"Uh, I got a question." Coco raised her hand, getting the headmaster's attention "Which newbie do we have to test?"

"That's a good question, Miss Adel." The man closed his eyes "To answer your question, I will assign locations for each team."

That got the second-year students to listen intently on what the man had to say.

"Team MDNT (Midnight)," This got the redhead and his team to straighten themselves "You will be testing the students in Emerald Forest." The headmaster read the contents of his scroll.

"Mr. Himura, you will test Ruby Rose and Kiyoshi Nakamura," Himura nodded respectfully.

"Miss Sullivan, you will test Yukino Miyazaki and Shun Fujimori," Doreen smirked and crossed her arms.

"Miss Mizushima, you will test Ryoma Yukimura and Lily Scarlatina," Nagisa giggled and covered her mouth.

"Lastly, Mr. Jones, you will test Kiara Belladonna and Ezra Williams." Travis cracked his neck.

"As for Team CFVY (Coffee)," The fashionista and her team came closer to listen "You will be testing the students in Forever Fall." Ozpin continued to read his scroll.

"Miss Adel and Miss Scarlatina, you two will test Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Cayden Walsh and Magnar Pederson," Coco and Velvet looked at each other, with the latter nodding politely.

"Mr. Daichi and Mr. Alistair, you two will test Cardin Winchester, Russell Thrush, Dove Bronzewing and Sky Lark." Yatsuhashi and Fox nodded silently.

"Lastly, Team KYNO (Kayano)," Kirino and his team listened intently "You will be testing the students in Mountain Glenn." The man read his scroll once more.

"Mr. Amano, you will be testing Valerie Stark and Ajax Silver," Amano nodded solemnly.

"Miss Sakurako, you will test Riley White and Shizuka Aoki," Yuuki grinned and did a thumbs up.

"Miss Lane, you will test Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos," Natalie smirked and cracked her knuckles.

"Lastly, Mr. Kearney, you will test Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie." Onyx smirked mischievously.

"I do hope, all of you understand what you must do now." Ozpin's expression was unreadable as he said that.

* * *

 **Forever Fall**

 **Cardin, Russel, Dove and Sky**

"That was rather disappointing." Yastuhashi said, shaking his head with Fox nodding in agreement.

The fight only lasted for five minutes, but the unofficial team of the four boys were already down for the count.

As if on cue, the white-eyed boy's scroll rang as he immediately picked it up in response and answered it.

With only a few minutes passing, he passed the scroll to the large teen.

"What do you need, headmaster?" The boy said, before nodding many times at what was said on the other side of the call.

"All four of you." This got the boys' attention, as they all groaned whilst standing up.

Yatsuhashi shook his head for a moment, before saying "The headmaster has decided to make an exception for all four of you." he closed his eyes "Which means that all four of you pass."

He received groans in response, which was meant to be cheering for joy.

Fox tapped the boy's shoulder and nodded at him, before getting nod himself in response.

"We shall leave you to save your energy now." The tall boy said, before turning around "Let's go, Fox."

With that, the two boys left the area, leaving the boys to regain what's left of their aura and energy, as well as their pride.

* * *

 **Mountain Glenn**

 **Ajax and Valerie**

"Shit, those arrows are freaking tough!" Ajax chuckled nervously as he and his partner hid inside a building.

"Tell me something I don't know." Valerie muttered in exasperation.

The two students had taken cover, as soon as their upperclassman had started firing arrows at a very rapid pace.

Speaking of upperclassman, Kirino was gazing at the building the two first-year students are taking cover in, with a calm and calculating expression.

 _" **Seven Spectrum Array** : **Indigo Arrow**."_ The pink-haired boy closed his eyes, as he uses his aura to create two indigo colored aura arrows over his bow as he aimed them at the building, before opening them as he shoots _" **Tracker**!"_

The two arrows sped towards the walls and went straight through as it hit both underclassmen with merely a single shot.

 _"What ... was that?"_ The hidden girl felt bits of aura lingering on her back as it began to spread.

 _"Am I feeling aura ... on my back?"_ The black-haired boy bared his teeth as he felt aura running over his entire body.

Their reactions did not go unnoticed by Amano as he transferred aura into his eyes and saw that the two younger teens now had an indigo glow covering their bodies as they were visible right through the building's walls.

 _"The arrows are now in effect."_ The older boy nodded to himself as his aura flared throughout his body as it was grayish white in color _"I shall now use my semblance."_

He closed his eyes again as he raised his free hand in the air with only a single thought coming to the boy's mind.

 _" **The Mist**."_

As soon as that thought came to mind, a thick fog began to cover the entire area, only to affect all of Mountain Glenn as well.

 _"Hopefully, the rest of my team are now aware that the plan is now in effect."_ Kirino mused, thinking about his team.

 **Shizuka and Riley**

The gray-haired boy grunted as he deflected another kick from the older girl using both of his arms, with his weapon on his right hand.

His partner was trying her best to hit her opponent as she focused through her rifle's scope, but the blonde easily dodged the amount of dust shot at her, due to her speed, which was more than enough to cause her some difficulty in aiming.

 _"She's too fast!"_ The blue-haired girl felt some sweat on her forehead.

Riley focused on his upperclassman, as she sped around them while shooting at him with her dual pistols. Narrowing his eyes, he transformed his combat knife into a nightstick as he immediately charged at her afterwards.

But before he could reach her, Yuuki stopped in her tracks and surveyed the entire area around them with an unreadable expression.

"My leader has activated his semblance." He barely heard her utter those words.

As if on cue, a thick fog appeared as it began to cover the area surrounding him and his partner.

"What's going on?" Shizuka said from behind with a bewildered expression.

"To answer your question Aoki-san," The feline faunus spoke, getting the two students' attention "The fog that is about to blind us, comes from our leader, Kirino Amano." she stared at them intently as her aura began to flare "This is his semblance, it is called **The Mist**."

 _"Another semblance user."_ Riley narrows his eyes as he watched the fog cover the area even more, to the point where he could barely see his own surroundings _"Was this planned?"_

"Since Kirino-kun is using his semblance to help all of us in this part of initiation." The blonde girl was slowly turning transparent "I shall use mine as well."

The older girl closed her eyes as her thoughts gathered into a single one.

 _" **Phantom Phase**."_

With that thought coming to mind, the girl becomes completely transparent as the fog begins to covers her to mask her visibility to her underclassmen.

"Get ready." She said ominously, which prompted the two younger teens to stick together as they prepared for incoming attacks.

 **Jaune and Pyrrha**

"Someone help me!" The blonde knight screamed as he ran from the rock golem that tried to smash him with their fists.

"Move!" The Mistralian champion moved in front of him as she used her shield to block an attack as she and her partner moved backwards.

"What's wrong newbies?" Natalie grinned as pulled out a large gun from her back while standing on top the golem "It's only a matter of time before our fearless leader activates his semblance."

"His semblance?" Pyrrha narrowed her eyes "What do you mean by that?"

The older girl merely smirked in response "That's for you and your partner to find out."

As if in response to her words, a thick fog appeared out of nowhere as it began to cover the area that surrounded the students.

"Huh, what's happening?" Jaune asked, as his vision is slowly being clouded by the fog itself.

"Oh that?" The short-haired girl said in a nonchalant tone "That's just my leader's semblance, no big deal."

 _"From the way she's acting, she knew that this will happen."_ The redhead looked around her surroundings as her partner was about to get lost in the fog.

The upperclassman smirked as she closed her eyes with only one thought on in her mind.

 _" **Earth Maker** : **Golem**."_

In response to that thought, dozens of rock golems were formed as she manipulated the earth surrounding her, as well as the rocks being materialized by her aura as it flared wildly.

"Get ready 'cuz you can't see these guys in this fog." Natalie smirked, before firing her gun at the two students, as the dust rounds quickly went by second by second.

"Jaune, we have to take cover!" Pyrrha grabs the blonde's hand as they quickly dashed towards a broken wall where they immediately went behind it for cover.

The girl was now aware of the difficulty that came with enrolling in Beacon Academy.

 **Ren and Nora**

"Get back here, Mr. Laughing Voice!" The ginger-haired girl shouted gripping her hammer tightly, before smiling sweetly "Can you please let me smash your leg for just a little bit?"

"Nope!" The fox faunus replied, smirking as he jumped from her attack again "You'll have to wait until the real fun starts."

"What do you mean by that?" Ren narrowed his eyes cautiously.

The older boy turned to him, still smirking "My leader's semblance will come in three, two, ..." he trailed off as fog began to surround him, along with the two students.

"One." The last thing that the boy saw was his upperclassman's mischievous smirk as he disappeared in the thick fog.

"Ren-Ren, what's happening?" Nora tilted her head in confusion as her surroundings were slowly getting covered by the fog before her.

"Nora, stay close to me." Her childhood friend grabbed her hand and pulled her by his side, before preparing himself, along with his weapons on his disposal.

In the fog, Onyx's smirk grew wide as he closed his eyes with his aura flaring as it was dark gray in color, along with one simple thought in his mind.

 _" **Thought Shift** : **Hallucination**."_

He grinned once that thought crossed his mind, before raising his hand that transferred bits of aura into his underclassmen's minds.

Unaware of her upperclassman's semblance in effect, Nora began to see a herd of Beowolves surrounding her as she noticed that she was in fact alone by herself.

"Ren!" The girl tried to call out for her friend, before noticing one Beowolf attempting to lunge at her.

In response, she swings her hammer at the Grimm, only for the said Grimm to disappear rather than be physically affected by her weapon, much to her confusion.

Ren was also in the same situation as his friend, as he attempted to attack the Beowolf that charged at him, only to have the same result that his partner did.

 _"What is this?"_ The boy tensed as he prepared himself for the madness that will ensue.

* * *

 **Ajax and Valerie**

The two students were hiding in the building for a while, until Ajax decided to look through it's window.

As he did, his eyes widen in shock as he said "Val, we have a new problem and you're not gonna like it."

His partner raised an eyebrow at that, before looking out the window herself.

Like the wolf faunus, Valerie's eyes widen in shock as she saw that there was a thick fog, which prevented them from seeing the outside, including it's surroundings.

But she didn't let that deter her for long, as she stood up and made her way out of the building's entrance, only for her partner to stop her as he grabbed her shoulder.

"I'm not letting you go out there alone." The boy said firmly, getting a nod of response from his partner.

As soon as they stepped outside, an arrow is immediately shot at them as nearly hit Silver's foot.

"What the!?" The black-haired faunus exclaimed in surprise.

The hidden girl turned to see more arrows being shot as they rained from above.

In response, she grabs her partner's hand and begins running through the fog, hoping that the arrows would miss. However, the arrows were hitting the ground in different areas, with one of them barely hitting the girl's foot as she stopped in her tracks, before running again.

Unbeknownst to the underclassmen, Kirino was the one shooting the arrows as he used his aura to detect the two students', due to the effects of his Indigo aura arrow.

 _"If they're going to engage me in close quarters combat,"_ The feminine boy thought, shooting another arrow _"Then they will have to navigate through my semblance first."_

Ajax was trying his hardest to use his faunus senses to see through the fog itself, as he ran along with his partner.

 _"If I can't use my natural senses, then I'll have to use this instead."_ The boy's aura began to flare all over his body as it was colored silvery white _"Please let this work."_

With only a few minutes passing, he managed to detect that the fog is made up of pure aura, as well as noticing that his body was coated in an indigo colored aura, along with the girl.

 _"What the heck?"_ He stared at his aura coated hands.

That did not go unnoticed by the pink-haired boy as he used his aura to create more arrows.

 _" **Three Morality Sides** : **Gray Arrow**."_ He closed his eyes, as he uses his aura to create four dark gray colored aura arrows as he aimed them at the ground, before opening them as he shoots again _" **Explosion**!"_

Silver's aura enhanced faunus senses acted up as he looked away from his hands and stared above, before his eyes widened in alarm.

"Look out!" He called out to his partner, to which she immediately dodged the arrows as they exploded upon hitting the ground.

"We have to move!" The short-haired girl grabbed the boy's arm as they tried to navigate through the fog again, but to no avail as more arrows rained from above.

 _"I have to do something!"_ The wolf faunus gritted his teeth, as he released himself from the girl so he could use his enhanced senses to detect each arrow being fired.

"What are you doing!?" Valerie shouted incredulously.

"You have to keep moving!" Ajax shouted back, turning to her "I'll take care of-"

However, he stopped mid-sentence as he adopted a shocked expression, before hitting the ground on his stomach as a green arrow is seen attached to his back.

"Ajax!" His partner cried out in worry, dashing over to him.

With a fierce expression, she pulled out the arrow and studied it.

 _"This ... is made of aura!?"_ Her eyes widened in surprise, before looking at the boy as he groaned.

As she realized this, Kirino stood on the building's roof as he opened his eyes, before thoughts run through his head.

 _"Your partner has been shot by a Green arrow, also known as,"_ The older boy stared at the two younger teens on the ground _" **Seven Spectrum Array** : **Green Arrow** , **Paralyze**."_

She immediately turned his body around, as he now faced her while offering a weak smile.

"S-Sorry, I thought I'd save you by deflecting those arrows." He gave a strained chuckle, before frowning as he spoke again "Y-You have to get to cover, or you'll-"

"Be quiet, you idiot." The hidden girl cut him off, looking at him with a stern expression "I'll get us out of here." She grabbed his arm and put it over her shoulders "Hold on."

Valerie reached out for one of her pockets, as she pulled out a purple raw dust crystal.

 _"I hope this thing works."_ She narrowed her eyes at the crystal, before throwing it on the ground, as it created a large, but relatively harmless explosion that masked her and her partner's auras.

The girl took this as an opportunity to quickly move him to another building, as she looked around for signs of arrows being shot at her and the now-paralyzed boy.

After a few minutes of moving, she finally made it to another building before setting her partner down as he groaned in slight pain.

"I-I can't move my body." Ajax said quietly, his body not moving in the slightest "I-It might be, because of the arrow that hit me."

His partner kept quiet as she stared out of the window with a focused expression as she tried to come up with a plan to get past the first test of their initiation.

 **Shizuka and Riley**

"Head for that building!" The boy shouted, transforming his nightstick into a baton "I'll distract her!"

"Right!" His partner nodded, as she quickly went inside the said building with her rifle seemingly out of ammo.

After heading inside, she immediately switches magazines to reload her weapon while her partner was outside dealing with the older girl somehow.

Shizuka closed her eyes as she composed herself, before heading outside with Riley nowhere in sight.

"Riley!" The blue-haired girl called out, going further into the fog "Where are you?"

"Shizuka!" She turned to see the gray-haired boy running towards her, with the baton switched back into a nightstick "Get back!"

With those words said, Yuuki appears out of the fog with twin blades as she is prepared to strike them. As soon as she made her move with both blades, the boy immediately blocks them with the nightstick using both hands.

He barely managed to send her back slightly, before charging forward with the nightstick back into a baton as it was sparkling with electricity.

The blonde faunus narrowed her eyes, and moved back from her opponent's charge, before noticing her other opponent aiming at her with the intent to shoot.

She quickly speeds over to the hooded girl, surprising her, and delivers a swift kick to her stomach as she dropped her weapon and was sent into deeper parts of the fog.

Riley turned his attention to his partner for a brief moment, until his upperclassman instantly appeared on his side, completely transparent, and giving him a sideways kick, which sent him back further into the fog slightly but never dropping his weapon.

Unbeknownst to them, Aoki had already picked up her rifle as soon as Sakurako shifted focus onto her partner, and then dashing towards a two-story building, attempting to snipe her from it's second floor windows.

 _"I hope Riley's okay out there."_ She thought worriedly, entering the building before taking it's stairs that would lead to it's second floor.

However, she wasn't aware that the transparent opponent that's fighting the boy, was only a mere phantom, as the real one followed her into her location by going through it's walls.

As soon the blue-haired girl reached the second floor windows, she sets up her rifle as she looked through it's scope to snipe her partner's opponent.

"Nice try, Aoki-san." Yuuki suddenly spoke up, catching her underclassman by complete surprise as she turned to her in shock "But your tactic is useless against a semblance like my own!" she immediately dashed towards her, with blades in her hands as she did.

When the younger girl realized she was backed into a corner, she immediately jumped out of the second floor windows with her rifle on her back, only for Riley to catch her on time.

"Come on, we'll lose her in the fog." The feminine boy carried his partner bridal style into thicker parts of the fog, much to said partner's embarrassment.

"W-Why don't you use your semblance?" Shizuka asked meekly, her face red from feeling the boy's hands on her back and legs.

"I can't." He answered quickly, attempting to navigate through the fog "If I can't get a clear sight of our current area, then I won't be able to summon my portals in different areas."

As if on cue, the feline faunus suddenly appeared in front of them in transparent form, prompting the boy to jump backwards before turning around to continue running.

 _"Truly, these semblances will be difficult to get past."_ The gray-haired boy mused, still carrying his partner.

 **Jaune and Pyrrha**

"Pyrrha, what do we do?" The blonde asked, sneaking a peek at the golems before retreating back into the wall.

The redhead was contemplating on what action to take, before she stood up and reached her hand out to Jaune.

"Jaune, stand up." She said, to which the knight responded by grabbing her hand "Do you have any idea what to do?"

"Me?" He was surprised that he was the one being asked that question, before suddenly adopting a thoughtful expression as he cupped his chin.

After a few moments, he faced his partner with a surprisingly serious expression "How about we split up and divide the golems' attention."

"Divide their attention?" Pyrrha looked out of the wall to see that there were six golems at best, before going back in to listen to what her partner had to say "Go on."

Meanwhile, Natalie was standing on top of one of her golems as she had her large gun pointed at the wall the two students were taking cover in, she only managed to see it because of the transferred aura to her eyes.

"I wonder what those two are planning." The girl was genuinely curious on what plan her underclassmen had in mind.

"Go!" She then heard running as someone had run out of the wall on the left side, causing all of the golems to pursue them.

 _"Interesting."_ The older girl thought, before hearing another dashing out of the wall on the right side, causing at least three golems to stop in their tracks to chase after them _"Dividing their attention, eh?"_ she smirked to herself _"This'll be fun."_

To make things interesting, the short-haired girl jumped off from the golem and chased after the student on the right side herself wielding blades between her fingers.

"Huh?" The student was revealed to be Jaune, as he was surprised that he was found instead of his much stronger partner.

She immediately made the first attack, prompting him to use his shield to deflect the attack itself before pulling out his sword.

However, he only seemed to swing it around wildly, leaving his upperclassmen to stare at him with a raised eyebrow.

 _"Is it me, or he doesn't know how to use that sword of his?"_ Natalie thought, looking at the boy himself with a confused expression.

The blonde Arc seemed to notice her expression, before snapping "Don't look at me like that!"

As if on cue, three golems appeared out of the fog as they stared down at the knight, causing him to gulp as he tried to stand his ground. He then stared at the older girl, who's blades shined menacingly as she grinned at him.

"You've got to be kidding me?" He deadpanned to himself.

 **Ren and Nora**

The ginger-haired girl had swung her hammer again at the Beowolf, only for it to go through the Grimm again rather than actually getting hit.

"Why won't you let me hit you!" She snapped, which was unlike her to do so.

Her friend and partner was in the same situation as his attacks did nothing to physically harm the Grimm attacking him.

 _"There has to be a reason why my attacks aren't harming them."_ Ren thought as he attacked another Beowolf, but had the same result like the last one _"Furthermore, I can't find Nora anywhere."_

Unbeknownst to the two students, Onyx was smirking upon watching the his underclassmen struggle to kill the "Grimm" that surrounded them.

 _"I made sure to make those Grimm look real in their eyes."_ He thought, referring to his aura and semblance _"The best part, Kirino's semblance makes it especially hard for Lie to realize that all he's seeing are nothing, but one big hallucination."_

The fox faunus had the impression that the younger teen was knowledgeable with his aura, as well as observant, which was why he decided to test that.

 _"I'll see if that guy can figure out that all of the Grimm around him is fake."_ He cupped his chin thoughtfully, waiting to see great results from his underclassmen.

Meanwhile, Nora was still attempting to smash the Beowolves with her hammer, but all of her attacks had the same result like before, much to her growing frustration.

 _"Why isn't my hammer working!?"_ The girl thought, slowly losing her previous cheerful demeanor as she grit her teeth in frustration.

As if on cue, strange hooded men appeared out of the fog as they wielded axes and machetes, which had gotten the girl widen her eyes in shock and recognition.

 _"If you want to hurt my little Nora, then you'll have to go through me first!"_ A man's voice rang in her head, as seemingly old memories resurfaced _"Little Valkyrie, I will always be there for you."_

 _"No."_ She tried to push them away.

 _"Don't hurt my little girl, I beg you!"_ The voice switched into a woman's, further opening unwanted memories _"I hope that this village will be a better home for you."_

 _"Please no."_ The girl begged in her head, not wanting her memories to resurface even further.

 _"I apologize if I plan to collect your daughter, but it's for the sake of our lord."_ A third voice came into her head _"It's nothing personal, because she will-"_

 _"Shut up!"_ She especially didn't want to hear that voice.

Letting her own emotions take over, Nora growled at the men approaching her as she gripped her hammer even tighter.

"I'm going to kill you!" She shouted with tears going down her eyes "You're going to pay for killing mommy and daddy!"

The girl immediately charged at the men and swung her hammer, but it did nothing as it only went through them, like the "Grimm" she tried to hit a while ago.

While his friend was confronting past memories, Ren was slowly getting suspicious of the Beowolves that surrounded him, as they made no effort in trying to attack, other than lunging and pouncing.

 _"These Grimm are far different than the ones Nora and I have fought before."_ He mused, as he dodged another pounce _"Usually they would all attack differently, but they all have the same kind of attack."_ the boy decided to use his aura as it was the same color as his eyes.

He transferred that aura into his eyes as he observed the Grimm closely.

 _"They are all made up of aura."_ The black-haired boy narrowed his eyes, before observing the fog that surrounded him _"Onyx said that his leader's semblance would come, which means that all of this fog is a semblance itself."_

As if to answer his thoughts, another Beowolf lunged at him, only for the Grimm to right through him as it landed on the ground, before doing it again.

 _"What I'm seeing is likely the work of Onyx's semblance."_ Ren deduced, as he allowed the "Grimm" to attack him at once, but with the same result.

It did not go unnoticed by the black-haired faunus as he smiled at the boy's observation.

 _"Looks like he didn't let my leader's semblance get in the way of using his aura."_ Onyx was genuinely intrigued by his underclassman _"Though I don't feel proud of using his friend's memories against her as another test."_

He decided to release the effects of his semblance on the younger boy's mind, with the said boy coming back to his senses as he barely noticed his partner swinging her hammer at nothing through the thick fog.

"Nora." He tried to reach out to her, only to receive a death glare from the girl in response.

Unfortunately, she was still under the effect of the semblance, as she saw a hooded man instead of her childhood friend.

"I'll break your legs and kill you!" The ginger-haired girl roared, charging forward as she swung her hammer hard.

Ren barely managed to dodge his friend's attack, as he closely observed her eyes as they were clouded, likely from the semblance's effects.

 _"She's still under the influence of Onyx's semblance."_ The boy mused as he dodged another swing from the girl's hammer _"I must find a way to snap her out of it."_

He was going to have to fight his friend, in order to free her from the effect of his upperclassman's semblance.

* * *

 **Ajax and Valerie**

"Val, I still can't move." The black-haired faunus groaned, trying to get his partner's attention.

That seemed to work as she reached out for something in one of her pockets.

"My father's friend said that this would take care of any aura effect." She said, pulling out a small glass tube filled with a glistening substance "I think this should erase the aura arrow's effect on your body."

The girl moved to where he was and opened his mouth, to which she spilled a bit of the substance as soon as she did. Afterwards, his body started to glow silvery white, until one of his fingers moved.

"Whoa." To his own surprise, his arm moved "It actually worked." his own body followed afterwards.

Valerie smiled at the fact that the substance actually worked and placed it back into one of her pockets.

"While you were still on the ground," She crossed her arms over her chest "I found a way to get to Kirino, without getting noticed by him and you're going to help me."

"Oh?" Ajax raised an eyebrow and smirked "I'm listening."

 _*A FEW MINUTES LATER*_

Kirino was looking over the fog with his aura transferred to his eyes and his bow already armed with an arrow.

 _"I hope those two would take their time in planning their attack."_ He mused, still keeping his guard up.

As if on cue, he immediately detected one of his underclassmen inside the fog as he aimed his bow at the said underclassman.

He shoots the arrow at his target and to his surprise, it was deflected by his underclassman.

In the fog, Silver had his entire body enhanced with aura as his faunus senses were in overdrive and his sword ready.

 _"Thanks for the boost, Val."_ He smiled as he remembered the enhancement he took.

 _*A FEW MINUTES AGO*_

"Uh, what is that?" The black-haired faunus asked. pointing at the glowing glass tube.

"It's an aura enhancement potion." His partner answered, examining the potion herself "My father's friend loves making potions for just about everything, which means that this might be the right time to use it."

"Would this help my faunus senses then?" He questioned, furrowing his brows.

"The potion can enhance them as well, so you don't have to worry about that." The girl gave him a reassuring smile "I figured that I should start using what I have at my disposal."

The boy wordlessly took the potion and gave her one more smile, before drinking it with his aura flaring wildly and his faunus senses going into overdrive as a result.

 _*BACK TO THE PRESENT*_

 _"Thanks to that potion, I can see through the fog now."_ Ajax gripped on his sword tighter _"Plus, it also means I can see and deflect those arrows with no problems."_

Another arrow is shot at him, and he easily deflects it with a lazy swing from his sword.

More arrows are being shot after that, to which he begins move around his surroundings as he deflects every one of them as soon as they got close.

With his faunus senses enhanced, he can detect every arrow shot at him and can easily see through the fog, like it was never there in the first place.

He deflects another arrow as he jumped backwards, and another as he rolled to the right.

Kirino tracked the boy's movements, and is impressed by what he is seeing.

 _" **Seven Spectrum Array** : **Orange Arrow**."_ He closed his eyes again and used his aura to create an orange colored aura arrow as he aimed it at his underclassman, before shooting _" **Bullet**!"_

The arrow was shot at the boy as it's speed was something to keep track of due to it having the speed of an actual bullet, something that the wolf faunus barely noticed.

 _"A fast one!"_ Silver managed to deflect it, but it slightly cracked his sword, which was something he kept track of _"I'll have to get that fixed and reinforced."_

Shaking his head, he went on to deflect the arrows being shot at him, with the upperclassman seemingly unaware that he was buying time for his partner to sneak up on him with the help of another potion.

Without getting detected, Valerie makes it to building the pink-haired boy was in and quickly made her way to the rooftop, with the potion still in effect.

As soon as she made it to the roof, she spots Amano still shooting arrows at her partner.

The hidden girl reaches out for her sword and charges at the older boy without hesitation.

However, that's where the potion's effect end as the archer immediately detected her and moved out of the way as a result.

That did not stop the girl as she stopped herself from running off the egde of the roof and continued to charge at him with her sword ready.

In response, he repeatedly flipped backwards to distance himself from her and shot another arrow using his feet as he stood on his own hands for a brief moment.

Valerie quickly deflected that arrow as she continued to move forward, until she finally reached him.

Realizing that he was in a disadvantage, he activated his semblance and creates a small fog on the roof to buy himself time to distance himself from her and prepared to shoot another arrow.

But before he could shoot, he is forcibly pushed down on the floor by an unknown force as he struggled to move, let alone stand on his own.

"Man, sorry if I took a while to get here." Ajax said as he came out of fog, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it." His partner responded, trying to see him "Your semblance really helped this time."

"So you're the one that's holding me down." Kirino said from the floor "It was the work of your semblance, correct?"

"Yup!" The younger boy said, grinning "I can control gravity as my semblance!"

"I see, then both of you pass this test." The feminine boy smiled as his aura began to flare "As a reward for your efforts, I shall deactivate my semblance so both of you can move on to the relics."

True to his word, the fog slowly begins to disappear as the abandoned safe haven once again came into sight for the two students.

"Both of you can go now." He said, nodding "But can you deactivate your semblance so I can stand."

"Oh!" The wolf faunus realized that his semblance was still in effect "Sorry."

WIth his aura disappearing, Amano stands on his stand up as he dusted himself before looking at his underclassmen.

"I look forward to seeing you both in the first day of class." He smiled calmly, getting a nod of response from the two as they quickly made their way out of the building.

 **Shizuka and Riley**

The boy was still carrying his partner as he was still finding a way to get through the thick fog that prevented him from seeing his surroundings.

 _"At this rate, this will get us nowhere."_ He thought as he dodged another surprise attack from his upperclassman.

As if to answer his thoughts, the fog slowly disappears as he was beginning to get a clear view of the area he's in.

He looked to his left and saw that Yuuki was aiming her dual pistols at him and his partner, before proceeding to shoot.

In response, Riley dodges the dust bullets shot at him, before transferring aura to his feet and creates a portal, to which he immediately falls in, along with Shizuka in his arms.

 _"Since this fog is now clearing itself up, I can finally use my semblance to quickly escape her and move on to the next part of initiation."_ He thought as the portal closed, leaving the feline faunus alone.

The blonde closed her eyes as her aura envelops her once more, before reverting back to what she originally wore.

 _"Looks like Kirino-chan has been defeated by his kohai if his semblance is no longer active, nya."_ The older girl thought to herself, before walking all by herself towards Kirino's area _"I better see if he's okay, nya."_

As the upperclassman was left alone to her own thoughts, the two underclassmen were teleported to an area where they are secure.

"Can you put me down now?" The blue-haired girl asked timidly, as she was still in her partner's arms.

"Very well then." Her partner placed her own on her feet gently.

"So, I guess we should move on into the initiation now." She said, twiddling her thumbs.

"Agreed." The boy nodded, before turning around "Let's move."

 **Jaune and Pyrrha**

"Ugh!" The blonde knight was sent back, due to the strength of his opponent's attacks.

"Seriously, that's all you got?" The short-haired girl raised an eyebrow as she walked towards him.

"I-It's not like I can keep up with your strength." Jaune groaned, trying to stand up.

Natalie sighed putting away her blades, and snapping her fingers to call her golems as they appeared from the fog,

"It's a shame, actually." She said, shaking her head "It seems like you lack physical training for a huntsman," the boy looked down on the ground in response "I can tell you have some smarts in there, but they're rough around the edges at best."

Suddenly, sounds of footsteps can be heard, getting their attention, as well as the golems.

What the they saw was Pyrrha running from the three other golems as her shield was slightly dented from blocking their attacks.

Turning around, the Mistralian dodged another fist as it collided on the ground, before jumping on top it as she ran towards the golem's head.

Fortunately, that move seemed to be in her favor as another golem attacked the one she was on, which was meant to be her. The golem ended up smashing it's head as the redhead quickly jumped onto another as she landed on top of it's head.

Another one came forward and did the same thing as the one did before, which resulted in two of the six golems being destroyed.

Luck was clearly in Pyrrha's favor as all of the ones that chased Jaune did the same things that resulted in one golem remaining, much to Natalie's awe.

 _"Damn, she's not the Invincible Girl for nothing."_ The older girl smirked, turning to the blonde _"Though I don't remember seeing her do all those moves on TV."_

As if her luck had gotten better, the fog slowly clears out as she had spotted her partner while on top of the last remaining golem.

"Jaune!" She called out, getting his attention "I'm coming!"

With fluid movement, she immediately jumps off the golem and dashes towards the blonde, dodges a few attacks from Natalie, as she had pulled out of blades, and grabs his hand before transferring aura to her feet as she boosted herself up, along with her partner as they landed on a building roof.

"We must escape as quickly as we can!" The Mistralian champion said as she and the knight quickly left the building's rooftop and into the ground as they managed to get far away from their upperclassmen.

The older girl could only pout as they were immediately out of her sight.

"That wasn't even a fight, dammit!" She whined childishly, before sighing in defeat "Oh well."

Meanwhile, Jaune and Pyrrha stopped to catch a break as they felt that they managed to escape as quickly as they could.

"Thanks for the save." The boy thanked, smiling "Though you should give me a heads up next time."

"Your welcome, and I'm sorry for a while ago." His partner bowed politely.

 **Ren and Nora**

The fog was clear, but the two students were glaring at each other as the boy was determined to free his friend from the effects from his upperclassman's semblance.

"I'll break your legs!" She roared, dashing forward as she swung her hammer.

Ren dodged her swing and fired off a couple of shots from his weapons, with Nora avoiding them while taking a couple of hits from them due to her strength.

Narrowing her eyes dangerously, the girl switches her hammer into a grenade launcher as she immediately fires it at the hooded figure, in her eyes.

Knowing his friend's weapon, he dodged each grenade as they damaged parts of the buildings.

 _"I must stop her before she destroys this place."_ The boy closed his eyes, as his aura flared.

The black-haired boy then masks his presence with his semblance as he jumped from another grenade before landing behind his unsuspecting friend.

 _"I apologize for this."_ He sighed, before chopping the back of her neck with his aura enhanced hand.

As a result, Nora's eyes rolled at the back of her head as she was knocked unconscious from the sudden attack.

 _"Since Onyx isn't around, I must escape him as quickly as I can."_ Ren mused, as he carried his friend's body and ran off.

Meanwhile, the fox faunus sighed at his lack of action during his part of the initiation.

 _"At least all of us at the office agreed to actually hold back on those guys, since it'd be unfair if we went all-out."_ The boy mused thoughtfully, cupping his chin _"But man, I barely did any fighting, other than dodging the girl's hammer."_

"Onyx-kun!" He turned around to see Yuuki waving at him "We should meet up with the others, nya!"

In response, Onyx smiled as the girl came close.

"Alright then," The black-haired boy laced his hands behind his head "I was going to find my girly leader and partner, once I finish this."

"Kirino-chan won't be happy that you called him 'girly', nya." The girl smiled, as both of them made their way to the other two members.

With both upperclassmen on their way, Ren places Nora on the ground as the latter had just awoken.

"Ren?" The girl rubbed her head "What happened?"

"You nearly attacked me when you saw me as someone else." Her childhood friend didn't want to keep that from her, as her eyes widen in shock.

"I did!?" She places her hands in her cheeks, before pulling the boy into a tight hug "I'm so sorry!"

"That's alright, Nora." He sighed, already used to her hugs.

"No it's not!" The ginger-haired girl let go of him as she had some tears in her eyes "I thought I saw one of those meanies, but it was actually you, so I'm sorry!"

The boy responded by wordlessly pulling her into a hug, as he comforted her over her own inner demons.

* * *

 **Ozpin's Office**

"I must admit, those students have some skills." Glynda admitted as she stared at the headmaster's scroll.

The teachers had been watching the battles the entire time in Ozpin's scroll.

"I have my eyes on Rose and Nakamura though." Kyosuke smiled as he repeated the duo's actions in the Emerald Forest "They're pretty skilled on their own, and I can't wait to see what they do as a team."

"But all of the other first-year students are quite skilled as well." Yuna said, watching the events on Mountain Glenn.

Suddenly, the elevator rang as new person stepped out of it.

"Professor Ozpin, I would like to-" The person cut themselves off as they are seeing other people occupying the office "Am I interrupting something important?"

"Not at all," The man waved off, smiling wryly "I believe I must ask why you have returned on your own without Qrow, Miss Mizuhara?"

Mizuhara, the person, sighed in exasperation before speaking "That drunkard sent me back so he could finish the rest of the mission himself, and that was after I stopped him from starting a bar fight."

Hayashi chuckled lightly at that as he smiled "It's nice to see you again, Kiyomi."

"The feeling is mutual, my friend." Kiyomi smiled as she fully came into view.

Kiyomi Mizuhara was also a Beacon Academy graduate as she has long black hair that reached mid-back, light purple eyes and a pale complexion. Her physique was slightly average, but has a moderately sized chest and slightly toned legs. She is at twenty years of age.

She is wearing a dark gray long coat over a dark green v-neck sweater with a white dress shirt and a black necktie underneath, a light gray short skirt and wears black knee-high boots with gray thigh-high stockings. She also wears black gloves and a dark brown belt around her skirt, and carries a black satchel.

"What is your reason for being here, Miss Mizuhara?" Ozpin laced his hands together, as he stared at the young woman intently.

In response, she sighed as she said "It is about Salem."

 **To be continued ...**

 **This chapter was slightly shorter than the last one, but at least we have some decent scenes from Ren and Nora, especially the latter. The next chapter will focus on some small interactions as they grab the relics, before facing off against the Grimm on the next one after.**

 **Next Chapter: Teams (Part 1)**


	13. C9: Teams (Part 1)

_**Okay! This chapter will just be some character interactions as they make their way to the relics and grab them as soon as they see them. I assure you that they'll fight Grimm in the next one.**_

 _ **Got it! ;)**_

 _ **On to the story!**_

 **Ozpin's Office**

As soon as the black-haired woman said the name 'Salem', everyone in the office tensed up as they all had different reactions.

Hayashi had a dark look as he clenched his fists, Yuna stared at the headmaster with concern, Glynda looked away slightly, and Ozpin clenched his mug as he stared at the former Beacon student.

"What did you and Qrow find?" The silver-haired man asked, keeping his cool.

"Headmaster," Kiyomi closed her eyes as she began to explain "Qrow and I have found what it appeared to be a den filled with Beowolves and Ursa, and he had spotted a black-attired figure leading all of them to that den."

"And what of it, Miss Mizuhara?" The blonde professor asked, looking at her.

"We had come to a conclusion that Salem is gaining new followers." The woman said, opening her eyes as they were narrowed "Her group consisted only of herself and six others, if one would include one of her follower's two henchmen, but now she is gaining eight to ten more members into her faction."

"Was there any proof that led you both to that conclusion?" Ozpin questioned, furrowing his brows.

The young woman remained silent for a few seconds before answering "The proof was that another figure attacked us out of nowhere."

Her answer received a gasp from the red-haired woman as she looked at her with a concerned expression.

"What." Kyosuke muttered darkly "Who attacked you then?"

Mizuhara looked away as she responded "We didn't see who attacked us, but they said that they pledged their loyalty to Salem, which gained the attention of the first figure we saw."

She turned to the headmaster with a serious expression "Headmaster, the first figure wore a Grimm mask and they left a vague hint on what her motives are for causing this threat in the first place."

In response, the headmaster sighed as took a sip from his coffee, before looking his former student in the eye.

"Admittedly, you coming in was surely a surprise, considering that I've been focusing on preparing initiation for the new batch of hunters." He said honestly, not taking his eyes off the young woman "However, I must ask you one thing."

The Beacon alumna raised an eyebrow at that, but gestured him to continue.

"Is there any other reason why Qrow decided to finish the mission on his own, without you and your semblance to assist him." Opzin's expression was stoic when he said that "You were a skilled scout and tracker from your days as a student, so why did he decide to sent you back here in Beacon."

Kiyomi sighed, knowing that he was going to say that "That's because he made the reckless decision to track down the two followers to Salem's lair." she explained, much to the everyone's shock in the office.

"Is he mad!?" Glynda snapped, looking angered but was clearly worried.

"I don't remember the details of what caused him to make that decision, but all I know is that he will do so in bird form." The dark-haired woman said calmly, before sighing "Honestly, I thought I would have to put up with his habits, but I didn't think that he would go that far."

"Mizuhara-san, if Branwen-san will be out on his own without you," Yuna spoke up, after staying quiet and listening to their conversation "Then what will you do now, until he returns."

"That's a good question." Kyosuke nodded, before setting his eyes on the woman "What are you are gonna do now, until that guy comes back."

"I believe I will make that arrangement, Miss Mizuhara." The headmaster spoke, getting his former student's attention "Since you have no permanent home, due to assisting Qrow on his missions after graduation." he made room for a small smile "I will offer you a place to stay here in Beacon, until his return."

The woman smiled in response, as she bowed politely "I would very much appreciate it, headmaster."

"Furthermore, you will be assisting Professor Peach in Dust Chemistry, due to the huge amount of grades you received from that subject from when you were still a student." The man continued further "Think of it as a way to take your mind off worrying about Qrow's safety." he then smiled warmly "Lastly, since you're no longer my student, feel free to call me by my name, like your fellow graduates."

"Very well then, thank you Oz-" As soon as she raised her head up, she immediately clutched her forehead as she felt a stinging sensation in her head, cutting herself off.

"Are you okay?" The redhead rolled over to her fellow graduate "I will take you to the infirmary if you would like, until you get your own room."

"Miss Mizuhara, I suggest that you should listen to Miss Himura." Glynda said, crossing her arms "I believe you have overused your semblance again, correct?"

Kiyomi nodded weakly in response, before facing the headmaster one last time "We shall talk again at a later time, Ozpin."

"Of course, Miss Mizuhara." Ozpin nodded, before facing his scroll.

With that, the two female graduates went into the elevator as they made their way to the infirmary.

* * *

 **Infirmary**

"I hope your head will be fine, Mizuhara-san." Yuna said, watching her fellow graduate sit down on one of the beds.

"I'll be fine, Yuna." Kiyomi waved her hand in response "Also, just call me by my first name, we're not students anymore, right?"

"Alright then, but promise me not to use your semblance during your stay." The red-haired woman had a concerned expression.

In response, the tracker looked around to make sure they were alone, before facing the other woman, much to said woman's confusion.

"My current headache isn't caused by my semblance, actually." She admitted, getting a raised eyebrow in response "I am having recurring nightmares for the past few days before coming here by myself."

"Oh?" Himura seemed surprised by this, before saying "Then can I ask what are those nightmares that you have been having."

Mizuhara looked at her for a few seconds, before responding "One of the recent nightmares that I have been dreaming of, was that I was in some sort of hallway with mirrors, before getting dragged away and being pulled into one of the mirrors with my body crushed in the process."

As soon as she said this, her fellow graduate seemed shocked by what she heard.

"Before that however, I was called Kirigiri many times." The black-haired woman closed her eyes "Tell me, does the name 'Kirigiri' mean anything?"

The wheelchair-bound redhead shook her head in response "I'm sorry, but I am sure that I have never heard of that name in my life."

"That's okay." The Beacon alumna now proceeded to lay down on the bed she was sitting on "I shall rest myself, for now."

Yuna nodded in agreement, before letting herself out of the infirmary.

* * *

 **Emerald Forest**

 **Ruby and Kiyoshi**

 _"We are almost at the ruins."_ The boy thought to himself as he effortlessly carried his partner, while making his way to the ruins where the relics are located.

After a few seconds, they had finally arrived at their destined location, as it was another part of their initiation.

"Kiyoshi, can you put me down now?" The crimsonette suddenly asked, still on his back with her face as red as a tomato.

Her partner nodded in response, setting her down gently as she slowly regains what was left of her composure.

"I apologize for carrying you like that." Kiyoshi turned to her "It wasn't my intention to make you feel uncomfortable."

"That's alright." The girl waved off his apology, her face slowly turning back to it's original color "As long as we're here now, it doesn't matter that much to me."

The white-haired boy nodded in response, as he and Ruby explore the ruins as they began searching for the relics.

With only a few minutes passing, the two students had searched parts of the ruins as they searched what they were required to find, until they stopped upon seeing large chess pieces placed individually on many podiums.

"Are these the relics?" The silver-eyed girl asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Most likely, since we have not found anything else in this place." Her partner responded, with some snarky thoughts in mind _"The headmaster had certainly used his birthday presents in such an interesting way, considering that they came from Professor Goodwitch."_

"So, are we actually going to take them back to the academy?" The girl spoke up with her hands on her hips "They seem to be quite large for chess pieces." she picked up a black knight as she said that.

"I suppose so, since the headmaster would want us to form a team with these ... relics." Nakamura mused, picking up the same piece himself.

Suddenly, the bushes made some noises as voices can be heard on the other side of them, which had gotten the duo's attention.

In response, both pulled out their weapons, though in the boy's case summoned another spear, as they focused on the source of said noises.

"We are not enemies, nor the Grimm." A voice said as Ezra came out of the bushes, his arms raised in a placating manner.

"Are you alone?" Ruby asked, slowly lowering her blade.

"I am not." The black-haired boy quickly responded, before turning to the bushes behind him "Kiara come out, they're not going to hurt nor judge you, trust me."

"Fine." Another person came out of the bushes, revealing Kiara as she had her arms crossed under her breasts.

The cat faunus looked around for a second, before noticing the crimsonette as her own eyes widened in surprise upon seeing her.

"Hello Kiara." She said simply with her right hand on her hip.

"Hey ... Ruby." The raven-haired girl waved awkwardly in response.

"Do you two know each other?" Her partner asked, noticing their small exchange.

A nod of response was the reply he received.

 **Shun and Miyazaki**

"Are we lost?" The boy asked, his hands laced behind his head "Since it's been thirty minutes already."

"No, we're heading in the right direction." His partner replied, focusing on the path "As for why so much time had passed, that's because we landed far away from-"

The sounds of slight screeching halted them in their tracks, as the two students now looked around for signs of Grimm.

"What was that?" Shun pulled out his weapons as he looked around with a wary expression.

"That screeching ... " Miyazaki trailed off for a moment, before finding her voice "I believe that was a Nevermore."

"A what!?" Her partner tensed up, looking around frantically.

Narrowing her eyes in the direction she's facing, the wolf faunus suddenly sped forward.

In response, the brown-haired boy followed her as he shouted at her to stop so he could catch up.

"Miyazaki, wait!" He shouted, before a hand is suddenly clamped over his mouth.

"Stay quiet," The girl put a finger on her lips as she observed the creature that made the screeching "The screeching came from a Grimm."

The Grimm resembled either a condor, or a raven. Like other creatures of Grimm, it has a mask-like, white bony structure overlaying the upper front of its head. It also has four glowing red eyes, two on each side of its head, with the headpiece including a dorsal spine or fin, reminiscent of that on the heads of condors and some prehistoric pterosaurs. Lastly, The Grimm is seen to have two clawed "fingers" extending forwards from the outermost wing joint.

"It's a Nevermore." Yukino narrowed her eyes, as she stared straight ahead "Furthermore, it is blocking our path to the ruins."

"What do we do?" Fujimori asked, staring at the avian Grimm intently.

"I suggest that we should sneak around it." She said in an even tone "Do you understa-" the girl cut herself off as she turned around to notice that her partner had disappeared.

 _"Where did he-"_ Her thoughts were cut off as soon as she heard someone shouting.

"Hey you feathered bastard!" The boy shouted as he activated his gauntlets "Get out of our way, or I'll make you."

 _"That idiot."_ She deadpanned as her aura began flaring.

Shin had taken Shun's place, from the moment the white-haired girl suggested that they should sneak around it, instead of fighting it.

The Nevermore heard his threat and screeched loudly in response, as it prepared to fly and attack from above.

However, before the Grimm would make it's move, ice appeared our of nowhere as it froze the bird Grimm solid, with the faunus running from her hiding spot afterwards to grab her partner by the hand.

"Hey!" The boy shouted, baring his teeth "What are you-"

"I'm saving you from doing something reckless." She quickly cut him off, as she gave him a small icy glare, depsite both of them running.

As if on cue, the Nevermore broke out of the ice and flew into the sky, screeching as it did.

This had gotten Shun to regain control of his own body, before proceeding to run from the creature as he did with his partner.

 **Lily and Ryoma**

"Are you sure the ruins are that way?" The petite faunus asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Both of them had stumbled upon a deep cave as it gave the boy the idea that it was another path to the ruins.

"Definitely." Her partner crossed his arms and smirked "Plus, it's also a shortcut, so come on."

She wasn't convinced by what he said, due to observing the cave's entrance, but sighed and went in with him.

"It's so dark in here." Lily said, her vision slowly getting dark.

"Relax, I brought a flashlight just in case." With what he said, Ryoma pulls out a flashlight from his pockets and walks even further into the cave.

As both of them walked into the cave even further, the rabbit faunus could feel a sense of dread going down her spine, before seeing what looked like gold.

"Fuck yeah, the relic!" The boy grinned as he ran towards the "relic".

However, his partner narrowed her eyes in caution, slowly stepping forward as the so-called relic was shaped more like a scorpion's stinger in her eyes.

She then widens her eyes in shock, as if realizing what she was seeing and immediately thought back to what her cousin had told her about the Grimm.

 _*FLASHBACK (THREE YEARS AGO)*_

Velvet was reading a book with her little cousin as it was about the Grimm.

"What's that?" The short-haired faunus asked, pointing at one particular picture.

"You mean the one with the golden stinger?" The older girl said, before getting a nod of response from her cousin.

She coughed as she began to summarize what was on the book "Well, all I can say is that the one with the big stinger is a Deathstalker."

The little rabbit faunus merely tilted her head in response, clearly curious about what she had learned.

"The Deathstalker is a scorpion Grimm and it's stinger contains poison that can kill their victims within seconds." Her older cousin explained "They're usually not found around Vale, but they are extremely dangerous."

 _*BACK TO THE PRESENT*_

"Ryoma, no!" Lily cried out, getting her partner's attention before he could grab the "relic".

Following with what she said, she shoots out an aura beam that lit the entire cave, revealing a very large Grimm.

Contrary to most creatures of Grimm, which have black fur or feathers, this one had a jet-black exoskeleton underneath several white bonelike plates upon its back, which are adorned with red markings.

One of the more prominent attributes is the glowing golden stinger on its tail that it uses as a lure. It also has a pair of large pincers, and has ten red eyes and unique markings that can glow in the dark.

Ryoma widens his eyes in shock upon seeing the massive Grimm that he nearly walked into.

 _"That's a Deathstalker."_ The rabbit faunus gulped, before calling out to her partner again "Ryoma, we have to get out of here!"

The boy didn't need to be told twice as he immediately bolted from the scorpion Grimm before it would attack him, and grabbed his partner to escape the cave even faster.

 **Ruby, Kiyoshi, Ezra and Kiara**

"So these relics are the chess pieces?" The Schnee butler asked, picking up a black rook.

The white haired boy didn't say anything, but nodded in confirmation.

"Huh, the headmaster must be running out of relics to use then." The cat faunus mused, picking up the same piece as her partner.

Out of nowhere, Kiyoshi noticed his partner tense as she looked around with a wary expression.

"Do you sense it?" The crimsonette asked, her aura leaking slightly.

But before her partner would respond, Shun and Miyazaki come out of bushes as they seemed to be running from something.

"Nevermore!" The boy shouted, with screeching heard on cue.

"Out of the fucking way!" Ryoma appeared out of nowhere, carrying Lily bridal style.

"This is interesting." Nakamura cupped his chin as he saw them first.

As if on cue again, a Deathstalker came out of another part of the Emerald Forest where the two students came from, much to the others' shock and surprise, except Kiyoshi.

"Oh boy." Ruby shook her head in exasperation.

* * *

 **Forever Fall**

 **Weiss, Blake, Cayden and Magnar**

The four students had reached the area where the relics are located, as it was in a large open area with a platform and multiple podiums with the said relics.

However, Weiss was more than baffled upon seeing the relics, she and the others were looking for.

"These ... are relics?" The heiress held up a white bishop piece.

"I believe so." Cayden said, picking up the same piece.

"Well, since it's just the four of us right now, I guess we're a team already." Blake mused, looking at the chess piece in her hands.

"Indeed, lass." Magnar picked up the last bishop.

With their relics in hand, growling was heard from all sides of the area with Cardin, Russel, Dove and Sky running in the area with clear looks of panic in their expressions.

"I sense Major Ursai coming from all of our sides, Weiss." The silver faunus said, pulling out his bow and pulling it into two as it made twin blades.

"Then you better ready yourself." The white-haired girl pulled out Myrtenaster and pointed it at the Grimm coming out of the trees.

She gulped slightly, as she was fighting with completely different people.

 _"Remember Weiss, Ezra will not always be with you."_ The girl told herself mentally, before adopting a determined expression.

"Looks like we have to fight our way out." The hidden faunus pulled out Gambol Shroud and went into a dual wielding stance.

"Aye, it is but our only option." The bulky teen held his greatsword tightly.

The four prepared themselves for a fight, as the Grimm attacked immediately.

* * *

 **Mountain Glenn**

 **Ajax and Valerie**

"Eh, this place is much larger than I thought it is." The black-haired boy mused to himself as he and his partner entered a rather open building where the relics would await them.

"Don't let that get to you." The short-haired girl said, looking around the building.

"Riley, are these the relics?" A new voice caused them to stop.

"I believe so, Shizuka." Another one spoke up, prompting Ajax to step forward.

"Alright, who's there?" He asked, getting only silence in response, until a blue-haired girl comes out of one of the rooms.

"I suppose that you're a first-year student like us, then?" Valerie stepped forward with her hands on her hips.

"Yes, I am." The girl spoke up in a timid voice, before introducing herself "My name is Shizuka Aoki."

In response, the hidden girl smiled and introduced herself "My name's Valerie Stark."

"Hey what's up, the name's Ajax Silver!" The wolf faunus butted in with a toothy grin.

As if on cue, another person came out of the room with a rather stoic demeanor as they crossed their arms.

"Yo, what's your name?" Silver asked, lacing his hands behind his head.

"Riley White, and I am a boy for your information." Riley walked forward and stood beside Shizuka.

"Wait what!?" The black tailed boy shouted, shocked by another boy looking like a girl.

"If you are searching for the relics." The feminine boy put a hand in his blazer and pulled out two white rooks "Then I believe we are a team now."

His partner pulled out the same piece, with himself doing the same.

"We don't mind that." Valerie walked past her partner and took the two pieces.

Ajax wordlessly took the piece from her, still gaping in disbelief.

Out of nowhere, the building started to shake, prompting him to snap out of his reverie and run out the building, along with his partner, and Shizuka and Riley.

 **Jaune and Pyrrha**

The two students went into a building, as they took the time to take another break from running.

"Pyrrha, I think we finally lost her." The blonde breathed, placing his hand on the wall to support himself.

However, he did not get a response as he turned to see the redhead staring at something through another door.

"Pyrrha?" Jaune walked forward and stood behind her.

"Oh!" The Mistralian blinked in surprise, before looking at her partner "I'm sorry for not responding, but I believe we have now found the relics."

"Wait, really!?" The knight said, stepping forward to see what Pyrrha was looking at and found four white knight pieces.

"Huh, that was easy." He went towards the four occupied podiums and picked up the piece "I guess we're now a team since the other relics are gone." the boy said, looking at four empty podiums.

As if on cue, a wall broke as Nora came out of it, looking quite happy as she held her hammer gleefully.

"Hey Ren, I found the relics!" The ginger-haired girl called out happily, to which her partner came forward.

Ren, her partner, looked at the other two students as soon as he stepped into the room with a calculating look.

Jaune looked around awkwardly between his partner and the two new people in the room before waving "Hey there?" his tone was slightly awkward when he said that.

In response, the hammer-wielding girl bounced as she quickly took a piece from it's podium "Look Ren, this relic is a horsey!"

"Yes it is, Nora." Her partner shook his head in amusement.

"I believe with the remaining relics being the same," Pyrrha spoke up, walking past the knight and taking a piece from the podium "We are automatically a team, correct?"

"I believe so, indeed." Ren mused, taking the last piece.

"Oh!" Nora looked at Jaune and instantly appeared in front of him "Are you going to be our fearless leader?"

Before the blonde would make a response, the building immediately started shaking, to which the four students quickly make their way out.

As they did, they saw four more students with their weapons drawn out as all of them were about to be faced off against the Grimm, to which they appear on the building and the rooftop.

In terms of appearance, these Grimm lack any animal equivalent. They have no forelimbs, only hindlimbs, which are dual-clawed, and are inverted at the knee joints, as well as possessing tails.

Their skulls are rather stubby, and have four eyes. Like all other Grimm, they feature a dark black color, with white external bone all over the body, alongside deep red eyes and accents.

"Creeps." Ren muttered under his breath, before he and the others join the four other students.

"Hey there!" The black-haired boy waved with a grin "I guess we're gonna have to work together!"

"Get ready, Jaune." Pyrrha said, pulling out Milo and Akuo.

The boy nodded and pulled out Crocea Mors as all eight students prepared themselves for a fight.

 **To be continued ...**

 **Okay, done! This chapter certainly took long to write, but at least it somewhat builds up to the students preparing to fight the Grimm.**

 **Next Chapter: Teams (Part 2)**


	14. C9: Teams (Part 2)

_**Hello everyone, this chapter will focus on the students as they work together to eliminate the Grimm that surrounds them and eventually will form teams, to which I will confirm them by the next chapter. I will say this again, the fights will last long depending on how each of the soon-to-be teams will deal with them.**_

 _ **On to the story!**_

 **Emerald Forest**

The Nevermore was flying around the ruins in circles as it was keeping track of it's prey, while the Deathstalker was already making their way towards them.

"What do we do?" Lily asked, hiding behind Ryoma.

"We split up in teams of four." Kiyoshi answered simply, summoning his chains "I'll take out the Nevermore."

"Huh?" The reddish haired boy was confused by the younger boy's answer.

Ruby nodded, quickly knowing what he meant behind those words as her aura flared.

She then turned to the others and said "Four of us will take out the Nevermore, while the others will deal with the Deathstalker." the girl turned to her partner as her aura created a bow "I'll be on the Nevermore with Kiyoshi."

"I see then." Yukino steps forward, gripping her sniper rifle "If that is what he meant then I will help you both in that battle."

"You can count me in." Shun grinned, preparing his gauntlets "I guess this makes the four of us a team already."

"Then grab the relics that we have picked up." The white-haired boy said, pointing at the remaining two black knight pieces.

The brown-haired boy nodded, immediately going for the two remaining relics.

"You heard Miss Rose." Ezra said, turning to the remaining three "Let us deal with the Deathstalker, shall we?"

"Alright then, let's fuckin' do this!" The tall boy shouted, grinning as he held his sword.

"Kiara, you lead the way." The Schnee butler turned to his partner, much to her shock.

"What!" Kiara widens her eyes in surprise "I-I'm not really the type to lead others." she looked at the black-haired boy "Why can't you be the one to lead?"

In response, he smiled and said "I am not the type to lead as well, since I am a butler, which means that I am more of a follower."

"Do I look like I can lead for shit!" Yukimura spoke up before looking at his much smaller partner "Plus, I can tell she's too fucking shy to give orders."

"I-It's true." The petite faunus nodded in agreement.

The raven-haired girl could only stare at the three in surprise once more, before shaking her head as she looked at them with a determined, yet unsure expression.

"Fine." She said, looking at her unofficial team "But it won't be easy." she then focused on the other pair "You two, get the last two relics." the girl then narrowed her eyes "And do it quickly since the Deathstalker would arrive at any second now."

Both nodded in response, with the boy proceeding to pick up the other two rook pieces.

 **Miyazaki, Ruby, Kiyoshi and Shun**

"I got the two relics." The boy said, running up to his partner as he handed her the chess piece.

Nodding in response, the white-haired girl grabbed the relic from him and placed it inside her jacket, before proceeding to observe the bird Grimm flying around the area.

 _"The Nevermore seems to be old enough to not attack us directly."_ She mused, before the said Grimm proceeded to screech, much to her dismay.

"Miyazaki!" The crimsonette called out, grabbing the wolf faunus' attention.

"The screeching has attracted Beowolves from every corner." The white-haired boy stated calmly, unfazed by the growing situation.

True to the boy's words, dozens of Beowolves have been attracted by the Nevermore's screeching, which would be a sign that it was calling for help.

"No choice." The brown-haired boy muttered, his aura flaring as it was colored yellow.

With a determined expression, four yellow hands appeared from behind as Shun used his own aura to create them.

One Beowolf reacted by lunging as quickly as it could, but the boy was faster as he silently ordered the aura-created hands to grab the wolf Grimm by it's limbs, before they proceeded to tear them apart, killing said Grimm in the process.

This has sparked the others to attack the four students as they went out of their spots, with all of them having the intention to tear the teens into pieces.

However, that didn't happen as Miyazaki quickly intervened and stepped on the ground with her right foot as it created ice from the ground and froze multiple Beowolves in a single area.

"Kiyoshi, is it?" She calmly looked over to the other boy "You ensure that the Nevermore's attention is focused on you, while the rest of us hold off the incoming Beowolves."

In response, the said boy nodded as he went away from the group with his aura flaring greatly, as well as having the intention to divert the avian Grimm's away from the others.

"Be careful." Ruby said quietly, watching her partner leave.

"Ruby, Shun, advance!" The white-haired faunus aimed her weapon at the approaching Grimm, with the other two nodding as they moved forward with their weapons ready.

The crimsonette aimed her aura-made bow at her targets and fired multiple red arrows as the said targets quickly catch on fire before falling down on the ground, dead.

Shun raised his gauntlets and punched every Beowolf that came close to him, with their dust cannons providing distanced attacks on those that get past him.

Another one came up to attack him from the sides, but he quickly reacted by grabbing them by the neck and crushing it as they fell dead on the ground.

 _"Crap!"_ To his surprise, another Beowolf had managed to sneak up on him as they raised their claws to slash at him, to which he barely dodged them as his jacket was shredded from behind.

Before the Grimm would attack him again, a hand is immediately dug through it's chest before it howled in pain and died after the hand was released, causing it to fall down to reveal the boy with his bangs covering his eyes and his aura flaring again.

"You have some nerve messin' up our jacket there, wolfie." Shin growled, revealing that he took over after Shun was briefly caught off guard _"I'll handle this for a while, bro."_

That didn't go unnoticed by the silver-eyed girl as she fired an orange arrow at another one with it's skull pierced by the aura arrow itself.

She narrowed her eyes in caution, observing the boy's appearance as his eyes changed into amber with his bangs covering his left eye.

 _"What's happened to Shun?"_ The girl questioned to herself _"His aura is completely different than the one he had when I first met him."_ she watched him go into battle, as he ruthlessly tore through hordes of Beowolves with their bodies mangled and mutilated _"Does this have anything have to do with his semblance, or is it an entirely different cause?"_

A shot has been fired as a Beowolf was hit before it could attack Ruby while she was in her own thoughts.

"Ruby!" She snapped back to reality, only to see Yukino pointing towards to what she was looking at "Behind you!"

In response, the girl turns around to see a horde of Beowolves heading for her.

Ruby silently cursed herself for getting distracted as she allowed the aura bow to disappear, to use her katana, as the horde was too thick for her to use her twin blades.

She closed her own eyes for a brief moment, before opening them as sped forward at the incoming pack of Grimm.

The white-haired girl looked through the scope of her sniper rifle as she began to provide cover for her soon-to-be teammate, as the said teammate sliced her way through the massive horde with ease and precision.

Another Beowolf moved to attack, but was elbowed and quickly silced in half afterwards. She quickly kicks back another, only for it to get shot through the head. The girl advances again with her aura boosting her speed, before transferring it to her blade as she sheathes it to wait for the next three coming at her.

 _"Wait for it."_ She narrows her eyes at the incoming group.

Meanwhile, the wolf faunus was continuously sniping each Beowolf through the head every time they moved closer or was about to attack her comrade.

She aims at another one, only for it to click as the magazine was empty, much to her annoyance.

One of the Grimm took the opportunity to slash at her, but the girl quickly drew out her pistol as she shot them two times in the chest before getting shot through the head.

Narrowing her eyes dangeously at the coming group, the girl decided to use her semblance as she created a glowing sphere of ice in her hand, before tossing it on the ground as it created an icy smokescreen that temporarily blinded the Beowolves within it's range.

With an opportunity presented to her, she conjures ice twin daggers and moved through the smoke, killing every target within as she used said smoke for cover with her aura boosting her speed as she sped through them with little to no problems.

Afterwards, Miyazaki quickly moves away as the smoke clears before reloading her weapon and then transforming it into a rifle as she aimed it at her targets.

The remaining wolf Grimm growled as they moved to attack, but it was all in vain as their target's gun tore through them like they were made of paper.

 _"Hopefully, Ruby can finish off the Grimm focusing on her."_ She mused, pulling the trigger of her rifle again to deal with the last of the Grimm on her part.

Speaking of Ruby, the silver-eyed girl was focusing intently on the approaching group, until they got close enough for her to make a move.

 _"Now!"_ She unsheathes her katana, which unleashed a large air slash that sliced through the small group of Beowolves, as well as the ones behind her.

The crimsonette used this chance to advance again, with the intent to kill all of the remaining wolf Grimm with no mercy. She sliced through each one, constantly moving with every attack made by her targets as they stood no chance when she dodged them effortlessly.

A lone Beowolf tried to retreat, but was stopped as she used her aura to create a rope and whip to bind the said Grimm, before pulling it towards her to slice it horizontally in half as soon as it got close.

Growling was heard one last time as she turned to see six Beowolves trying to circle her.

However, the girl merely chuckled darkly in response as she transferred her aura into her katana once more as she sheathes it, before the remaining Grimm moved to attack at once.

 _"Die, pests."_ She unsheathes her weapon and spins around to create a circular air slash that killed all of the wolf Grimm that surrounded her as they were all sliced in half before their corspes fall to the ground.

But it was not over yet, as one barely survived the attack and tries to limp away from the girl before it.

Unfortunately for the creature, it was stopped in it's tracks as Ruby stepped on it's back and glared down at it with an expression devoid of emotion as she raised one of her pistol gauntlets to it's head.

"All of your kind will die." She whispered ominously before pulling the trigger, killing the last Beowolf.

Her actions did not go unnoticed by Yukino as she observed the expression on her comrade's face after dealing with the Beowolves that attacked her.

 _"Her eyes,"_ She thought, looking at the girl's eyes _"They are that of a killer, yet she has never taken a life before."_

Shin seemed to notice it too, as he was finished with his fight a long time ago and was merely watching the girls holding their own.

 _"Somethin' ain't right about her if she looks at those Grimm like that."_ The boy thought to himself, his aura glowing as his appearance changed again _"You can take it from here."_

Afterwards. Shun took over his own body again before observing his friend's eyes and shuddering in response to them.

"Look out!" All three of them turned to see Kiyoshi riding on the Nevermore, as it screeched while trying to get him off it's back.

 _*A FEW MINUTES AGO*_

The white-haired boy went away from the group with his aura ready as he focused on the bird Grimm that flew around the area.

 _"I must get it's attention somehow."_ He thought to himself, still running before coming to a stop as an idea popped up in his head _"This might work."_

He created a flare gun on his left hand and transmuted his aura into electricity on the right.

 _"I'll see if this would work."_ He mused thoughtfully, before shooting the flare gun at the direction of the Grimm and mixes it with the electricity.

Surprisingly to him, he managed to get the Nevermore's attention as it was hit by both the flare gun and his electricity, therefore angering it.

Kiyoshi didn't expect that the flare gun would actually hit the Grimm, since he expected that it would at least get it's attention and miss, but decided to go along with it as he channels his aura into his feet.

Afterwards, he began running as he creates stairs with every step he takes as a way to reach the avian Grimm that's now flying after him in anger.

The Grimm itself resorted to shoot it's razor-sharp feathers at him, but the boy quickly dodges them and creates dust-powered floating platforms to step on as he creates them using his feet.

He then creates thick brown rope and a long silver-tipped black spear, to which he wraps the latter's end with the former, before proceeding to throw the weapon at the Nevermore's torso, causing it to screech even more.

Taking note of his surroundings, the white-haired boy realizes that he went too far from the group and was close to exiting the ruins, much to his dismay.

 _"However,"_ He grabs the rope tied to the spear and creates a t-bar _"I can find my way back to the others by simply riding on this Grimm."_

Using the things he's created, he ziplines his way to the avian Grimm as it tried to shake off the spear attached to it's body, but it was all in vain as he manages to reach it's body and riding on to it, with the intention of bringing it to his unofficial team and taking it down as he did.

 _*BACK TO THE PRESENT*_

Her partner's voice snapped Ruby out of her current state, only to see said partner riding a Nevermore directly at her and her soon-to-be teammates.

"Attack!" She heard Yukino say, with her aiming her sniper at the struggling Grimm.

Realizing that it was their chance to attack, the crimsonette crouched down to one knee and allows her aura to flare wildly as it was seemingly creating something from behind her back.

 _"I guess it's time to use my second semblance."_ The girl closed her eyes and stood up, before opening them to glare at her incoming target as it came closer.

Meanwhile, Kiyoshi noticed that the others were now preparing themselves to attack the Grimm he's riding, which gave him the cue to immediately jump off with his aura summoning the chains on his hands as he uses them to latch on to a nearby structure and pulling himself down afterwards.

Shun was already firing the dust cannons from his gauntlets at the Nevermore as it was beginning to fly out of control, due to the hits it was receiving.

The wolf faunus was made sure to hit the bird Grimm's skull many times, as a way to crack it and leave a weak spot to exploit.

"Miyazaki!" She then turned to see her partner pointing at the silver-eyed girl getting ready to move.

It didn't take long for the white-haired boy to arrive as he felt a great amount of aura coming from his partner upon his arrival.

"Advance!" Miyazaki ordered, getting nods of response from all of the three.

The Nevermore notices them move and smashes up parts of the ruins with it's feathers in an attempt to crush the four students with the rubble, but it didn't work as the brown-haired boy switches personalities again and endures every hit, Nakamura transmutes his aura into fire and uses it as a barrier to shield himself, Ruby immediately speeds through and completely avoids them, and the white-haired girl creates ice wings on her back to go above them and fly directly towards the Grimm itself.

"Yo!" She turns to see Shin waving at her with a grin "Can't have you fighting that thing without me!"

With that, he creates the same hands used earlier as grappling hooks as one of them stretches out to grab onto a nearby structure to pull himself close to where the avian Grimm is.

"Ruby!" The crimsonette notices her partner grabbing her hand and pulling her close as he wrapped his arm around her waist, much to her slight embarrassment.

However, she noticed that they were standing on a hoverboard created by the boy, to which both of them immediately move to catch up with the other pair.

All of them begin combining attacks towards the Nevermore, except Ruby due to her terrible long-distance accuracy, Shin rapidly shoots the dust cannons while using the aura-created hands as grappling hooks to swing him around the area, Yukino flies around the bird Grimm while repeatedly shooting it in the head with her sniper, and Kiyoshi transmutes his aura into fire again and shoots it towards his target.

Ruby on the other hand, decided to prepare herself as she slowly unsheathes her katana with her aura growing even larger in power.

"Kiyoshi!" She shouts, getting the boy's attention "Fly me over to the Nevermore, now!"

In response, he wordlessly brings her closer to the Grimm while on the hoverboard, which prompted the white-haired faunus to assist her as flied closer herself.

"Do you have a plan?" She questioned, reaching the duo.

As if on cue, the Nevermore screeches as it noticed the three students getting close.

"Move!" The ice user said, flying even higher with the two students following.

"Wish me luck!" Ruby immediately jumps off the hoverboard, her aura forming a large humanoid figure behind her as she did.

 _"This is my second semblance."_ She closed her eyes, as the aura-formed figure was clad in armor and was wielding a large sword, the armored figure raised it's sword as soon as the girl raised hers _"One of my seven aura stands, Saber!"_

The crimsonette opens her eyes and lets out a battle cry as she and the figure slam down their blades toward the avian Grimm and slices it vertically in half, much to Kiyoshi and Yukino's awe, to which the latter snaps out of her stupor and immediately freezes the remains of the Grimm with the former shooting balls of fire to shatter the ice, along with the Nevermore itself.

Meanwhile, Shin watched the action as he pouted childishly at the display of power from his soon-to-be teammates and how he never got to be a part of the action.

With the Grimm eliminated, Ruby begins to fall as the figure disappears and has drained most of her aura and energy.

 _"This is why I rarely used it after learning of it."_ She thought to herself, closing her eyes again.

However, that didn't go unnoticed by Kiyoshi as he went straight for her on his hoverboard and catches her as he made sure he was below her as he did.

She then opens her eyes and sees her partner carrying her bridal style, which made her blush madly in embarrassmnt, before looking into his yellow eyes as they were focused on flying back to the ground.

"His eyes ..." She trailed off very quietly, her blush growing even more.

 **Kiara, Lily, Ryoma and Ezra**

"Shit." Ryoma cursed as he gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, staring at the amount of Beowolves surronding him and his soon-to-be teammates "We have a Deathstalker comin' after our asses, and now we're surrounded by fuckin' Beowolves because of that shitty Nevermore!"

"Calm yourself, Ryoma." Ezra said calmly, narrowing his eyes in focus "What do you have in mind, Kiara?"

"We fight." Kiara answered quickly, taking off her jacket and gloves and rolling up her sleeves "Our only option right now is to fight our way out, but Lily would be better suited as support than fighting alongside us."

"I understand." Lily nodded, opening her spellbook.

"Ryoma, I think you should head for the Deathstalker first while we provide cover." The raven-haired girl said, her arms transforming into morning stars "At least until we finish these Grimm and head over to assist you."

In response, the tall boy smirked and said "You got it."

"Then it's settled," She narrowed her eyes dangerously "Let's move!"

The Beowolves begin to attack upon seeing the students making their move.

However, they were highly unfortunate as Ryoma produced wind from his sword and using it to blow them away as he began slashing his way through.

"Outta the way, you bastards!" He shouted, killing another one before using his aura to produce more wind as he forced some of the Grimm back.

With her partner making her way towards the scorpion Grimm, the rabbit faunus closed her eyes as small glyphs appeared on the backs of Ezra and Kiara.

 _"My aura,"_ She placed her hand on her chest, as her aura flared as it was mint green in color _"Please enhance their strength and power."_

As if heartbeats has been heard, the black-haired boy widened his eyes on reflex upon feeling his aura growing larger in his body, as well as his partner.

But that proved to be extremely beneficial as the boy stared at them with a stony expression, before his sword transformed into armor with his aura mixed with transmuted electricity conjuring a large sword.

His partner on the other hand, she felt herself getting stronger as she immediately made the first move by swinging her morning star arm and hitting a Beowolf in the head, killing it instantly.

 _"In the name of my mistress, Weiss Schnee,"_ Her partner raised his sword as it crackled with electricity _"I will not fail my duties as her butler!"_

With a concentrated glare, he slams down his blade and it's electricity immediately blasts through multiple Beowolves, which made them growl as all of them moved to attack at once.

Unfortunately, they were no match for the two students as they stood near each other and killed each one getting close, while protecting their soon-to-be support member, as she is the one providing the enhanced strength with her own aura.

One Beowolf was bold enough to try and attack the petite girl directly, but was immediately killed as Kiara slams down the spiked ball of her morning star arm on it before pulling it out to kill even more, with Ezra creating multiple air slashes mixed with electricity as they both electrocuted and killed the Grimm in one area.

The Schnee butler grunted after killing another Beowolf and kicking another one back, with the cat-faunus swinging her morning star arm around to hit each one getting close.

"You son of a-" Words were cut off as the reddish-haired boy was forced to block another attack from the Deathstalker's pincers.

"Ryoma!" The brown-haired faunus attempted to reach her partner as she noticed him getting knocked back by the large Grimm.

"Stay back!" He shouted, causing her to stop as she visibly flinched "I don't want you getting hurt by this piece of shit, so let me handle this until the others come!"

Knowing that he meant well behind his words, she nodded as she stepped back, but that didn't stop her from using her aura to enhance his strength as another small glyph appeared on his back.

 _"I hope this will help you, Ryoma."_ The petite girl had cast another enhancement spell with her aura, with her partner getting the expected result as he felt his heart race and his strength greatly increasing.

With his strength increased, the tall boy grinned wildly at the large Grimm in front of him as he said "Alright you bastard, let's play!"

The Deathstalker merely let out a roar in response, before attacking the boy with it's pincers.

However, he effortlessly dodged the attacks with a yawn as he parried them before conjuring wind with his aura and sending it back slightly.

"Is that all ya got?" He smirked, gathering wind around his sword.

Meanwhile, Ezra slashes another Beowolf, before slashing another that tried to hit him, while Kiara switches the morning stars into short blades as she attacks the approaching Grimm head on.

"Damn, there's a lot of them." She grit her teeth, killing another one.

"Indeed," Her partner agreed, using electricity from his blade to electrocute several Beowolves "It is quite troubling."

"Looks like I'm going to use my semblance." The cat faunus muttered under her breath.

She closed her eyes and her aura flared as it was dark gray in color, before opening them as her amber eyes turned red and her pupils turn into slits. She then growls at the approaching Grimm and lets out an animalistic roar as her blades switch back to her metal hands, with the fingers extremely sharpened into claws.

With that, the girl immediately speeds toward the wolf Grimm and brutally slaughters them as she claws her way through while covering herself in Grimm's blood in the process.

This did not go unnoticed by the black-haired boy as he observed her movements as she seemed lost in her frenzy for blood.

 _"That must be her semblance if I can sense the aura dripping off her body."_ He mused thoughtfully _"However, does she have any control over it."_

Kiara uses the metal claws to decapitate one Beowolf, before delivering a side kick to another from behind and then tearing it's head off afterwards. She looks at the remaining ones on her side, before speeding over to disembowel them one by one.

Ezra shook his head, not wanting to distract himself from the remaining Grimm on his side as they tried to flank him.

He then focused on his own aura as it flared, with it being light indigo in color as he concentrates electricity onto his blade before moving to the right side and the spinning as the Grimm on that direction were killed with his electricity killing the ones on the left, leaving the ones facing straight moving to attack.

But the boy didn't stop there as he had his hand out in the direction of the incoming Beowolves as electricity is concentrated onto the palm of his hand, before firing a large electric beam that instantly disintegrated the Grimm.

"Yo!" His attention now turned to Ryoma as he waved at him while blocking another attack "Now that you guys are done with those guys, mind helpin' me out with this big guy."

In response, he nodded and then turned to his partner, who seemed to be looking down on the disintegrating corpses of the Grimm, but her aura was still active, much to his concern.

As if on cue, the cat faunus turned around to look at him with an unreadable expression, before her eyes turn back into it's original colors, and with her pupils reverting back to normal as well.

"Let's move." She said, immediately moving past him to assist the other boy, to which he nodded and turned around to move forward.

With all four of them together, they began to surround their target as the said target tried to pick which one to attack first.

"W-What do we do?" Lily asked timidly, legs shaking in fear.

"Ryoma and I will deal damage to the Deathstalker." Kiara spoke up, before looking at Ezra "Ezra, stay with Lily and conserve your aura, because you will deal the killing blow."

"Understood." He nodded, immediately moving to the petite rabbit faunus.

She nodded at him, before turning to the tall boy "Let's move, Ryoma."

"Gotcha." The reddish-haired boy smirked, following the ravenette as they approached the scorpion Grimm.

The Grimm responded by attacking them with it's pincers, but the cat faunus immediate sped around it while the boy began working his sword as it produced a small hurricane that caused it to stumble back slightly.

It desperately attempted to sting the girl when it saw she was near, but she was faster as her arm blades aimed primarily at the pincers, moving freely around it with the help of the boy's wind semblance as it boosted her movements.

Meanwhile, the Schnee butler decided to dematerialize his blade and his armor reverting back into a sword, much to Lily's confusion.

"Why did you take off your armor?" She asked, tilting her head slightly.

"That's because it is made up of my own aura." The boy answered quickly, focusing his aura onto his sword "This sword is much stronger than the one I conjured, alongside the armor."

"I see, so you're going to gather your aura into that blade to make one big attack." The brown-haired girl guessed, to which he nodded in response.

Kiara was still speeding around the Deathstalker as it's attention was focused on her.

 _"Let's see if we can force those pincers apart."_ She mused, before moving to where Yukimura was.

As soon as she did, she moved again, this time she moved directly towards the large Grimm, as it tried to attack her with it's right pincer, but she immediately jumped over it before wrapping the pincer with her chains and then moves again to simply pull at it, leaving it open on the right side for an attack.

The boy then took this opportunity to produce many air slashes in multiple directions as they immediately hit both pincers, with the left one failing as a shield, actually severing both in the process.

"Hell yeah!" He cheered, pumping his fist up.

With the pincers severed, the cat faunus moved freely around it again with her soon-to-be teammate assisting her with his semblance again, she now aimed to damage the Deathstalker's stinger, with the Grimm moving it around in a failed attempt to sting her as she was simply too fast.

She then proceeded to work with Ryoma as both of them teamed up to deal double damage to the stinger, with the latter producing powerful air slashes and the former moving around it while dealing damage herself with her aura enhancing the blades to deal more damage.

The girl then lands on top of the Grimm's head and then transferred aura to her legs to jump at the boy, to which he immediately figured out what she would do by focusing his wind semblance so much, to the point she now stopped because of the air itself, with the boy now using a lot of his semblance to turn her around and aimed her directly towards the stinger as it was about to fall off from the amount of damage it took from the blades.

He then shoots her towards the Grimm using a strong amount of wind from his semblance as the raven-haired girl switched the blade on her right hand into sharp claws, before slicing off the stinger in a brutal manner, as blood sprinkled from it after the stinger impales it's head, causing it to stumble in it's movements.

"Everyone move away, now!" Ezra called out, holding up his sword over his head as it was now shrouded with a huge amount of aura and electricity.

Both nodded at what he said, before moving out of the way for him to get a clear view of his target.

 _"Now for the killing blow."_ He nodded to himself, slamming down his sword on the ground and it makes a large electric slash as it broke parts of the ground, before it reaches his target and is immediately sliced in half, along with getting burned to a crisp.

The others watched on in awe, most notably Lily as she felt the large amount of aura in that attack alone.

"Hey guys!" They all turned to see Shun waving at them as he pointed at something in the sky "Look!"

Immediately turning around, all of them saw a small airship heading right for them.

Ryoma then turned to witness something interesting and smirked "Heh, way to go bro."

He saw Kiyoshi carrying an embarrassed Ruby bridal style, with the latter's face red to the point where it nearly matches her coat.

"Why are you carrying her like that?" The rabbit faunus asked, raising her hand in curiosity.

"Her entire body is fatigued from using her semblance to the point where she's unable to move for a few hours, which is why Kiyoshi is carrying her." Yukino answered for him, getting a nod of confirmation from the boy.

After a few minutes, the airship landed with a man coming out of it, which none other than Kyosuke.

"Congrats on passing initiation, you eight." The man smiled politely before introducing himself "The name's Kyosuke Hayashi, Beacon graduate, it's great seeing you all pass this test."

The white-haired boy took this opportunity to speak up "Are you by any chance associated with Professor Ozpin?"

"Yup, the man hired me as a teacher here." His smile turned into a smirk as he gestured to the airship's entrance "Now let's go before more of them show up."

The eight students followed the alumni into the airship without any complaint.

* * *

 **Forever Fall**

"Alright then, let's move." The heiress said, immediately moving in to attack with her rapier.

As soon as the hidden faunus started attacking, she noticed Cardin, Russel, Dove and Sky immediately running away from the area as soon as they found an opening.

"Hey!" She shouted, with the bulky teen turning in response with a scowl.

"As if we're gonna help those freaks!" He spat in disgust, looking at Cayden and Magnar before running back into the forest with his soon-to-be team.

"Team, fight your way through like your life depends on it!" The bull faunus shouted, his semblance already activated as he swung his sword across multiple Ursai, killing them all at once.

The silver-haired faunus grunted in acknowledgement as slashed another one with his twin blades as he pushed forward with his attacks.

Weiss summoned multiple glyphs and uses her speed to dance around one of the bear Grimm as they tried to attack her, but to no avail.

Blake uses her weapon in kusari-gama mode as she uses the recoil of each fire from the pistol to increase the velocity of her attacks as she was relentless in taking down one.

One Ursa tried to catch her by surprise, only to fail as it ended up hitting a clone with the real one attacking it from behind.

Cayden threw one blade and used the other to kill another one, as the one that's thrown functions as a boomerang, to which it inflicts damage on multiple Ursai, before catching it.

He then turns to notice another one attempting to catch his partner by surprise as she is occupied with two more Ursai, prompting him to quickly put both blades together to form his bow again and wasted no time shooting an arrow to dispatch that Grimm before it would attack the white-themed girl.

Magnar continues swinging his sword at the Ursai, before slamming it down to produce a shockwave that seemed to cause them to stumble as the hidden cat faunus quickly disposes them, leaving an opening to the forest.

"This way, comrades!" He shouted, getting the attention of the others.

As soon as the heiress moved to escape, another Ursa comes out of nowhere and tries to lunge at her, but was immediately stopped by a glyph from her, before it was shot by another arrow.

"Everyone, look!" The ravenette said, pointing at something in the sky "There's an airship coming for us!"

"Then we must not waste any time." The white-haired girl said, pulling an ice dust crystal.

"What do you plan to do?" The tan-skinned boy asked, shooting another arrow.

"Simple." She smirked at her partner, before transferring some of her aura into the crystal and throwing it into the ground, causing an icy smokescreen that blinded the remaining Ursai, giving time for her and the others to quickly escape into the forest.

After a few minutes of running, the four had reached where the airship had landed, to which they find the four boys that abandoned them earlier.

Waiting on the airship was a man looking at his scroll.

He noticed the remaining four students and smiled at them "Congratulations on passing initiation." He then introduced himself "My name is Edward Raison and I am a graduate of Beacon Academy, it is a great pleasure to meet you all."

Edward was a grown man in his early twenties as he has brown hair that was neat and is swept to the left, light hazel eyes with gray square glasses over them and a fair complexion. He had a normal physique, but is clearly fit enough as a professional huntsman.

He was wearing a light blue blazer over an olive green sweater vest and beige dress shirt, black trousers and brown leather boots that reached mid-leg as his trousers' legs were tucked in on each legs.

"Now," He gestured to the airship's entrance "Let's go before more Grimm show up."

The eight students followed the man into the airship with little to no complaints, other than some slight murmurs between Cardin and his team.

* * *

 **Mountain Glenn**

"Okay fearless leader, we're ready for action!" Nora said excitedly.

Jaune seemed to be taken back by the girl calling him her 'fearless leader', but shook his head and focused on the Creeps that were surrounding them.

He looked around as they slowly approached them, with the intent to instantly attack if they made one false step.

But hissing sounds were heard as the students' attention was drawn to the source of said hissing.

What the they saw was a spider Grimm, with bony armor protects most of its 8 legs and body, of which its gigantic abdomen is notable, with veins covering its head and its eight eyes allow for superior vision. About nine meters in length and three meters in height. Furthermore, blades jut out from it's legs to allow for close-range attacks.

Riley narrowed his eyes at what he saw and said "I didn't think that an Arachne would be in a place like this."

As if in response to words, Shizuka steps forward with a surprisingly determined expression.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Ajax asked, gritting his teeth as he watched the Grimm creep even closer.

"I ... have experience with them in the past." The blue-haired girl hesitantly answered and then closed her eyes, activating her aura as it flared with it being light aqua blue in color "My superiors told me that they're the Grimm that killed my parents, and my experience with them contributed to how I unlocked my aura and semblance."

She took off her hood and opened her eyes as they turned bright red with her pupils shrinking slightly, with her expression completely devoid of emotion.

"All of you will deal with the Creeps, while I fight the Arachne." She said, her voice completely emotionless before rushing towards the spider Grimm alone, ignoring the shouts of protest from the others.

Her actions have caused the Creeps to attack immediately, to which the students respond by fighting them.

Valerie flipped backwards as she dodged the tail from the Grimm, before dashing forward to deliver quick slashes from her thin sword before jumping back to avoid another attack from the tail.

Another one attempted to attack her while her back is turned, but it was quickly dealt with by Ajax as he emerged from a small portal, courtesy of Riley.

Speaking of Riley, his weapon was in baton mode as it electrocuted several Creeps with him powering the electricity with a mix of his own aura and dust.

He then clears out another one, before running after his partner to assist her.

Ren dispatches another one of them before dodging as another emerged underground, he fires off rounds from his weapons, but that didn't stop it from running at him with a great amount of speed.

But before it could lay an attack with it's tail, the ginger-haired girl quickly intervened as she used her hammer to smash it's skull, killing the Grimm instantly.

"Your welcome!" She did a cheerful salute to her childhood friend.

The blonde knight was having a relatively hard time avoiding them as the Creeps were supposedly faster than him, but the redheaded Mistralian quickly dispatched it along with several of them in the process.

Jaune then took this time to think over the situation he's in, while eyeing the students taking out the Grimm left and right, with little to no problems.

 _"They're trying to push us into a corner by surrounding all of us at once."_ He mused thoughtfully _"But Shizuka proved that their formation was weak when she ran in head first to attack whatever Grimm that was."_ he then looked over the Creeps that were attacking the students either in groups or by themselves _"If we split ourselves up, then it should split those Grimm up too, I hope."_

He shook his head before dodging another attack as he fell to the ground slightly, to which his partner quickly makes work of it and then reaches her hand out to him.

"Are you alright?" Pyrrha said gently, to which her partner responds by grabbing her hand and pulling himself up.

"Yeah," He gave an unsure smile as he said "I think I have a plan to kill these Grimm fast."

She smiled in response and leans in closer "I'm listening."

Meanwhile, the Arachne hisses loudly as it shoots multiple webs at the petite girl that was attacking head on, but to no avail as she effortlessly dodged each one shot at her before leaping forward.

It responds by attacking her with the blades from it's legs, but she dodged the attacks so fast, to the point where she looks like she is teleporting around it.

The girl then suddenly appears in front of it before delivering multiple kicks to abdomen as soon as it stood up with two legs to attempt to attack her with multiple ones.

However, her kicks were simply too fast and strong as it began hissing in pain, to which she delivers another kick that begins cracking it's armor.

It had attempted to use two legs to grab a hold of her, but she quickly disappeared and instantly appeared behind it to deliver an aura enhanced kick that completely shatters the armor as it broke to pieces.

With the spider Grimm gradually weakened, Shizuka delivers the killing blow by performing a large drop kick on its head and causes it to explode due to the amount of aura used in that move, therefore killing it as its headless body fall to the ground.

Unbeknownst to her, Riley watched on in awe as his stoic demeanor broke slightly for a second upon seeing his partner perform completely different acts.

"Everyone!" A call draws his attention as Pyrrha shouted "Jaune said to split up and divide them!"

This seemed to get to everyone as they all went in separate directions, including the redhead herself.

Valerie had used this opportunity to activate her semblance with her aura flaring as it was cyan blue in color, to which it resulted in her outrunning the Grimm chasing her as her speed was greatly enhanced.

She then decided to stop and face them as the approaching Creeps sped towards her with their own speed, and she responded by bursting forward and spinning as they were sliced up by her sword as it was also enhanced by her aura.

Ajax merely used his semblance to root them to ground before dashing forward to quickly dispose of them.

Ren and Nora worked together, with the latter attacking them after the former leads them directly to her while weakening them as he fires off his weapons at them.

Jaune and Pyrrha had also decided to work together, with the knight using his shield to block some of their attacks, with the Mistralian delivering fatal blows using a combination of attacks from her spear and shield.

The gray-haired boy then turned to see his partner looking at him oddly, before dashing forward to attack the remaining Creeps, to which he secretly aids her by using his semblance to help her easily move around them as she jumps through multiple portals in her surroundings.

From behind, a Creep had emerged from the ground in an attempt to deter it's target, but it didn't work as he merely dodges and electrocutes it to death with his baton.

After a few minutes of fighting, the eight students had managed to clear out every Grimm in sight.

"Is her semblance still active?" Valerie asked, pointing at Aoki.

In response, the girl turns around to look at her with a completely emotionless expression as her bright red eyes seemed to stare at her soul, much to her disturbance.

"Creepy." Ajax shuddered under her stare as he was standing next to his partner.

"Shizuka!" Riley voiced out loudly, causing his partner's semblance to quickly deactivate as her eyes return to normal with her timid expression back in place.

"D-Did I something wrong?" She shakily asked, feeling the stares from her fellow students.

"Hey look!" Nora pointed out, causing everyone to turn to what she was pointing at.

The ginger-haired girl saw a small airship heading right for them.

Since they were in a large open area from when the Creeps were attacking, the airship had no problems landing as a man emerged from it.

"Hello students!" The man bowed politely at them "I congratulate all of you for passing initiation!"

He then proceeded to introduce himself "My name is Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck, a staff member of Beacon Academy and it is a pleasure to meet all of you!"

Oobleck was a man in his early thirties as he has messy green hair that's swept backwards, he has brown eyes that are covered by round opaque glasses and has a very pale complexion. He appeared to have a rather thin and slender physique.

The man had a rather disheveled attire as his white shirt had only one side tucked in and with its collar raised, a slack yellow tie that's hanging from his neck, dark-green pants and mismatched brown and black shoes.

"Now then!" He said, gesturing to the airship's entrance behind him "We must get a move on before any more Grimm appear!"

Jaune groaned as he looked at the transportation, with Pyrrha putting a comforting hand on his shoulder as both of them, along with the other students followed the man into the airship as it took off from the abandoned safe haven and flies back to Beacon.

 **To be continued ...**

 **This chapter was certainly a pain in the ass to write since I have to come up with believable and somewhat realistic fight scenes that you would see in the actual show. The next chapter will be rather short as it would only announce the official first-year teams in Beacon.**

 **Next Chapter: Teams (Part 3)**


	15. C9: Teams (Part 3)

_**Surprise! A quick update, since this chapter will be relatively short since it basically shows the official teams and especially the leaders, trust me they'll be a surprise to you ;)**_

 _ **That's all I have to say.**_

 _ **Onto the story!**_

 **Ozpin's Office**

"What are you laughing about Oz?" Kyosuke asked, seeing the headmaster chuckle to himself as he looked over to his scroll with an amused, yet calm expression.

In response, the man looked up from his scroll and waved him off while saying "It's nothing personal, Kyosuke."

"Is this about how you're gonna select the leaders of the teams?" The former student asked with a raised eyebrow.

The headmaster chuckled again and said "Indeed it is."

"Then I'm not expecting to be surprised by your choices." He remarked slightly, closing his eyes.

"How are the students?" Ozpin asked, turning away from his scroll "You did bring them back from the Emerald Forest."

"Oh them?" Hayashi opened one eye and answered "Rose got fatigued from using too much of her own aura and semblance, leaving her unable to move for a few hours at best." he then opened both eyes as he continued "The rest of them are fine, but still exhausted from fighting the Grimm nonetheless."

"I see then." The silver-haired man mused, before checking the time "I believe it's time now."

With that, both men left the office to the auditorium as the teams were going to be announced.

* * *

 **Auditorium**

"Are you feeling better?" Kiyoshi asked, seeing his partner come into sight.

"I am." Ruby nodded, before blushing as a certain memory came to mind.

"Something wrong?" Shun suddenly appeared beside her with an impish grin.

"N-Nothing!" The girl exclaimed, shaking her head.

As if on cue, four students walk up to the stage as their faces are displayed on the screen, with the headmaster in front of them as he began announcing the team while the audience applauds.

"Russel Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing and Sky Lark." The headmaster said stoically, staring at the boys lined up "The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces, and from this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL (Cardinal), led by... Cardin Winchester!"

The audience gives one more wave of applause, while four more students walk up to the stage to take their places in front of the headmaster as their faces fill the screen.

"Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos and Nora Valkyrie." The man said in the same tone "The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces, and from this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR (Juniper)."

Cue the applause, with the headmaster smiling as he continued "Led by ... Jaune Arc!"

"Huh?" The blonde said in confusion, with his partner grinning and offering him a friendly shoulder bump to him, but is knocked over and falls to his butt in front of the laughing audience.

Four more students walk up the stage as their faces were displayed on the screen.

"Victor Stark, Shizuka Aoki, Riley White and Ajax Silver." The green-attired man said, this time smiling "The four of you have retrieved the white rook pieces, and from this day forward, you will work together as Team SAVR (Saver)."

In response, the black-haired faunus grinned at his partner, who gave a thumbs up in response, while the blue-haired girl gave a timid smile with the gray-haired boy putting a hand on her shoulder with a small one.

"Led by ... Shizuka Aoki!" The headmaster finished, much to the said girl's shock.

"W-What!" She exclaimed, clearly surprised by her being picked as the leader.

"I believe the headmaster made the right decision." Riley calmly said, surprising his partner even more.

Afterwards, four more students walk up the stage with their faces shown on the screen.

"Cayden Walsh, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Magnar Pederson." The silver-haired man said, still smiling "The four of you have managed to retrieve the white bishop pieces, and from this day forward, you will work together as Team WBCM (Webcam)."

The audience applauded again, with the heiress and the hidden cat faunus both confused by the team name, while the tan-skinned boy merely crossed his arms and the bull faunus grinning as he pumped his fist in the air.

"Led by ... Weiss Schnee!" The man finished, getting a shocked expression from the said girl.

"H-Huh, w-wait I-" She was abruptly cut off by Magnar lifting her off the ground and putting her on his shoulder.

"Let us celebrate!" The bulky teen laughed boisterously, ignoring the girl's shouts of protest.

Four more students walked up to the stage again, with their faces displayed on the screen for everyone to see.

"Kiara Belladonna, Ryoma Yukimura, Ezra Williams and Lily Scarlatina." The man said, his smile growing into an amused smirk "The four of you have retrieved the black rook pieces, and from this day forward, you will work together as Team KLRE (Claire)."

With the audience applauding them, the tall boy grinned toothily as he placed a hand on top of his petite partner's head, much to her embarrassment, and the Schnee butler smiling warmly at his partner, who smiled in return.

"Led by ... Kiara Belladonna!" The middle aged man finished, earning a look of surprise from the cat faunus.

"Whoo!" Ryoma patted her back, smiling in approval "Way to fucking go!"

"C-Congratulations." Lily smiled softly, twiddling her thumbs.

The last four students went up the stage, with their faces displayed on the screen as the headmaster paid close attention to them.

"And finally, Ruby Rose, Shun Fujimori, Yukino Miyazaki and Kiyoshi Nakamura." Ozpin said, smiling as he looked at them closely "The four of you have retrieved the black knight pieces, and from this day forward, you will all work together as Team MRKS (Marx)."

In response, the crimsonette looked at her partner, with him looking back at her in return, and the brown-haired boy grinning as he wrapped an arm around his partner's shoulders, to which she rolled her eyes with slightly amused expression.

"Led by ... Yukino Miyazaki!" The headmaster finished, getting a slight reaction from the said girl.

"I'm the leader?" She questioned herself, looking at her teammates.

"The headmaster should have a reason behind such a decision." Ruby said, trying to reassure her.

Ozpin looked at all of the newly formed teams, before nodding to himself as he walked off the stage, along with the students as they began leaving the auditorium.

As he began walking back to his office, he saw Glynda and Kyosuke, with the latter waving at him.

"Headmaster, are you sure about your choices in picking the team leaders." The blonde professor said, looking slightly skeptical.

"Nah, it's just like how he chose Yuna as the leader for Team YKNE (Yukine) back in our days as Beacon students." The alumni casually waved off her concerns.

"I understand your concerns, but I believe I know my reasons for picking some of them as the leaders of their teams." The silver-haired man said, smiling.

"Um, headmaster Ozpin?" A voice received his attention as he turned around to see Ruby.

"What do you need, Miss Rose?" He asked politely.

"May I go to Vale?" She requested with a firm expression "I have someone to visit in the hospital."

In response, the headmaster looked at his colleagues before turning back to his student.

"Of course, Miss Rose." He nodded at her "But be sure to return before curfew."

"Thank you, headmaster." The crimsonette bowed politely in response, before leaving.

"It's about Miss Xiao Long, isn't it?" Glynda spoke up, crossing her arms.

He sighed in response and said "I believe that is the case."

* * *

 **Dormitory Buildings**

All of Team MRKS had their luggage as Kiyoshi unlocked their dorm room with his scroll, opening the door as a result.

"Whoa." Shun was in slight awe upon seeing the room.

The room itself appeared to be a co-ed room for both males and females, which meant that they would have to share the same living area, regardless of their differing genders.

"The headmaster said that these rooms are secured using an electric lock, to which our scrolls are the key." The white-haired boy explained, placing down his bag on one of the beds.

"I have no complaints." Miyazaki said, placing down her own bag.

Ruby looked around the room and saw two additional doors. Curious, she opened one of them and it revealed itself to be a closet, to which she sighed and went to the other door.

She opened it and it revealed itself to be a bathroom, much to her own relief.

 _"At least the dorm rooms have each their own bathroom."_ The silver-eyed girl thought to herself.

With another sigh, she quickly went to one of her own bags and pulled out her usual outfit at her home, as well as a bath towel and then takes off her headphones and gloves, before wordlessly going inside the room.

The crimsonette proceeded to take off her own coat, followed by her vest, necktie, dress shirt, skirt, and boots.

As soon as she began to peel off her stockings, the brown-haired boy immediately came into her room without knocking.

"Hey, I guess these rooms have bathrooms-" He cut himself off upon seeing his teammate in nothing, but her own lacy underwear and stockings, to which he gulped and finished "-too?"

In response, the girl flushed with an embarrassed expression, before it switched to anger as she flashed the boy a death glare that promised sending him to the infirmary.

Fujimori shivered, feeling the intensity of his friend's glare and quickly left the room afterwards.

Ruby then sighed in relief, before taking off her stockings, along with her black lacy undergarments.

 _"A nice cold shower would be a great way to relax after everything that's happened in initiation."_ She thought to herself, before sighing in bliss as the cold water hit her body.

 _*A FEW MINUTES LATER*_

The girl finishes her shower, as she steps out wearing a bath towel, before putting on a new set of underwear and her usual outfit, as well as applying feminine hygiene products to her body.

As if on cue, there was a knock on her while she buttons her dress shirt, much to her own surprise.

"Who is it?" She asked, now putting on a black and white plaid skirt.

"Ruby?" The voice belonged to Kiyoshi "Is there any reason why you're in there?"

In response, she quickly answered "I'm taking a shower.", while wearing a black sweater to complete her outfit and then proceeds to open the bathroom door with her used clothes in her hands.

"Are you going somewhere then?" The boy asked, watching his partner put away her used clothes before wearing a crimson red overcoat, a new set of black thigh-high stockings, and brown shoes, along with carrying some boxes and a small bag as she makes her way to the door.

She turned to him slightly and answered "Yes." with a nod, before leaving the room.

* * *

Ruby decided to take a bullhead on it's way to Vale as she begins contemplating on what to say to her sister once she reached the hospital.

 _"Hopefully, Luke's homemade biscuits can lift her spirits, since they're her favorite."_ She thought as she stared out the window of the transportation.

 **To be continued ...**

 **Well, this chapter certainly ended somewhere. I hope you enjoy the quick update for now as the Initiation Arc has finally come to an end! In the next chapter, we'll finally see Yang again, and how she's doing so far with her disability.**

 **Next Chapter: Visiting Yang**


	16. C10: Visiting Yang

_**Okay! The Initiation Arc was definitely a pain to write, but it was worth it. Now, we can finally settle down with a simple chapter that involves two sisters spending time in a hospital. Be sure to leave a review after reading :)**_

 _ **Now, onto the story!**_

 _ **A/N (27/12/2018): I can't believe I forgot to add this past near the end of the hospital scene.**_

 **Vale**

 **Ruby**

The ride to Vale didn't take very long, considering that I'm the only passenger on the bullhead, but the pilot didn't mind as he genuinely wished me luck on my visit to Yang.

He seemed like the type of person that greatly appreciated family.

Afterwards, I decided to walk for the rest of the time, until I reached the hospital, which only took ten to fifteen minutes.

The building itself was moderately large, something that was enough to help countless injured hunters or civilians, especially with low amounts of aura, but would possibly pale in comparison to the ones in Atlas.

I took in deep breath and sighed heavily as I stood by the entrance.

 _"There's no turning back now."_ I thought to myself, before the doors slide open by themselves as I went inside.

Once I did, a nurse was already standing in front, as if she was waiting for me the entire time while looking around.

She then notices me and smiled brightly before bowing in politeness as she spoke "Hello Miss Rose, I believe the both of us have not formally interacted yet, which is why I waited for your presence by the entrance."

Huh, I did notice her being the one pushing Yang's wheelchair when my father and I decided to return home, but I never bothered to acknowledge her since my mind was focused on the sudden invitation by the headmaster of Beacon.

But, I had a feeling that I might interact with her at some point, even if the said interaction was small.

"I believe I have not introduced myself yet to you, did I not?" The nurse placed a hand on her chest as she introduced herself to me "My name is Caren Ainsworth, and I am Miss Xiao Long's personal nurse assigned by Doctor Blyne Frost."

"My name is Ruby Rose, and I am the younger sister of Yang Xiao Long." I introduced myself immediately in response.

I then took it upon myself to observe her appearance.

Caren was a young woman in her early to mid twenties, judging from her looks, who has platinum blonde hair that reached the end of her back, with bright emerald green eyes and a completely fair skin tone. She had an hourglass figure, with rather large ... assets and widely shaped hips, along with being a foot taller than me.

She didn't seem to wear a nurse's uniform, compared to the other nurses that wore standard white uniforms, to which her attire consisted of a long white lab coat over a light yellow blouse, a dark green pencil skirt, with dark gray leggings and brown flats. She also wore white hospital gloves and has stethoscope around her neck.

"May I visit my sister?" I asked her, furrowing my brows.

"Well, of course." She turned around and said "Follow me."

I nodded in response and followed her as I begin thinking over on what I should say upon seeing Yang again.

 _*A FEW MINUTES LATER*_

After a few minutes of walking, Caren stopped in her tracks before gesturing to the door of my sister's hospital room as she gave me a warm smile.

"I hope that you and your sister would interact quite nicely." She bowed politely, and then proceeds to knock on the door and say "Miss Xiao Long, you have a visitor."

"Is it Ruby?" My sister's voice came from the other side of the door "'Cause if she's here, tell her that she can come in."

Her response, she nodded and smiled at me "You can see your sister now."

"Thank you, Nurse Ainsworth." I bowed respectfully, to which she chuckled, much to my confusion.

"You can call me Caren, Miss Rose." The nurse shook her head in amusement and then put a finger between lips "But don't tell Doctor Blyne and the other workers that, okay?"

I nodded in response before watching her leave as she gave me one more smile and a friendly wave while she walks away without a word, but I knew that she didn't need words to wish the best for my sister as I come here today to simply pay her a visit.

Sighing once more, I wordlessly turn the handle of the hospital room's door, before walking inside as Yang gave me a friendly grin with the wave of her hand.

"Hey sis!" She greeted cheerfully "How's Beacon for ya?"

I merely stared at her for a few seconds before sighing as I said "The academy itself is fine, I managed to pass initiation and be a part of a team." I grabbed a nearby chair and placed it near Yang's hospital bed so I could be right next to her.

"That's cool." She nodded, before eyeing the bag I'm carrying "Oooh, what's in the bag?"

"Luke's homemade chocolate biscuits." I responded automatically, earning an excited look on Yang's eyes, to which I roll my eyes in amusement.

I reached for my bag and pulled out the small boxes, which are filled with the biscuits made by Luke himself.

As soon as I opened the box, Yang immediately took a biscuit from the box and took a bite from it, causing her to sigh in pleasure.

She then looked at me with an even bigger grin as she said "Aw, you knew these were my favorites." she ate another one as she continued talking "You know me very well, sis."

"Of course I do, Yang." I shrugged and closed my eyes "After all, you are my older sibling."

"You know," She said as chewed on the biscuits "Even though you don't smile much anymore, I'm glad that you still care for me."

I didn't say anything as I simply nodded in response to her words without saying anything.

After a few minutes of silence, save for the crunching sounds coming from the biscuits being eaten, I took the time to observe my sister's current demeanor.

 _"Even after losing her ability to walk and stand, she still has the strength and courage to smile and laugh, especially after what happened in the past."_ I observed that Yang was smiling throughout eating the biscuits from the box _"While I can't bring myself to accept the past and move on, which is one of the reasons why I don't express myself as much as I used to as a child anymore."_ I closed my eyes and inwardly sighed _"I wish I could smile like Yang, even if it was only once."_

"Ruby." Yang's voice snapped me out of my thoughts as I turned to face her.

She seemed pensive when she called my name, as if she is trying to find words she needed to say before speaking.

"Yang?" I said, furrowing my brows.

"Ruby." She spoke again, facing me with a slightly serious expression "There's been something that I've been wanting to tell you before."

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow in curiosity "What is it?"

"I'm ... kinda jealous of you." Yang hesitantly answered, much to my surprise.

"Really?" Why was she jealous of me?

"That's because you've always been better than me, ever since we were kids." She explained, looking away from me slightly as she continued "When Rune was no longer in the family, you were always more talented than me in a lot of things." her hands began clutching on the bed sheets as she began listing down my talents "Cooking, baking, building things, playing the piano, writing, reading, doing schoolwork, and especially your aura." she then turned to me and said "The worst part is, I've been jealous of you ever since I was little. I've been jealous of how you can do all of them in only a few days. Even as a seven year old."

After what she said, I was shocked by this new information. She was secretly jealous of me for this long, even with how observant I could be, I never picked up any signs of her jealousy towards me.

"But," She wasn't finished yet as she continued "That doesn't mean that I hate you." she smiled warmly at me "In fact, while I'm still kinda jealous of you, I'm actually proud of how far you came, especially when you got accepted into Beacon so early by the headmaster himself."

Yang's smile became a full on grin while saying "Besides, you're still my baby sis. No matter how much you've changed over the years."

I see, despite her slight jealousy towards me, she still loves me regardless of how I have changed myself for years.

However, I felt like telling Yang the thoughts I have sealed away for years, since she has told me hers. It didn't feel right to leave her as the only one to speak of her own hidden jealousy.

"Yang," I spoke, getting my sister's attention.

"What is it, Rubes?" She asked, noticing my pensive expression.

"I ... have something to tell you." I inhaled deeply and then exhaled as I spoke again "I have been ... jealous of you as well."

This had earned a look of surprise on Yang's face, which prompted me to continue.

"I have envied the way you had the courage and strength to smile and laugh, despite everything that has happened in the past." I revealed, getting a bigger look of surprise from her "You have always found some way to lighten a dark mood." I felt some tears go down as I continued speaking "You even had the strength to move on and accept the past, while I couldn't bring myself to do so." I turned to Yang and looked her in the eye "In fact, I always envied the way you smile brightly at every great thing you did."

I didn't know why, but as soon as I revealed my own hidden jealousy. My emotions immediately began flowing through my mind as I continued to speak, along with more tears streaming down my face.

"E-Even now, my past memories have always buried themselves deep inside of me. Looking for ways to resurface and cause me more pain than I already have before." I suddenly heard my own heart beating, with my breathing growing ragged as I continued to speak "I-I want to move on and smile like you, but I'm afraid," I took in a deep breath and spoke again "I-I'm afraid that I might forget all of the good times I had as a child, my mother, and most of all, Rune." I began trembling as my memories began resurfacing again "W-When I lost them, I lost parts of who I am as a person, they're the reason why I decided to enroll at Beacon and accept the headmaster's invitation."

The memories, they were too much!

"Everything I did as a child meant nothing, because they weren't there to see it!" I suddenly found myself shouting as my emotions began taking over, but suddenly spoke in a quiet tone "All of the things I achieved mean nothing to me, because I felt undeserving of them." I couldn't stop and I even forgot Yang being in the same room as me "I-I wanted to grow up with them, and make them proud with what I've done, but now that they're gone, I felt like my efforts were for naught a long time ago." I attempted to calm myself "Even as a child, I felt a great connection to them and I-"

I suddenly stopped mid-sentence, as I was pulled against something warm, to which I looked up and saw that Yang pulled me against her chest and wrapped her arms around me as she gave a comforting hug, which served to keep my current emotions in check.

Speaking of my emotions, all of them flowed through my mind, as I began sobbing quietly against my sister's chest.

"Let it out, sis." She patted on my back as another way to comfort me "I'm here for you, so just let it all out."

"Can I ... stay like this for a while?" I requested hesitantly in a quiet tone.

In response, she said "Sure you can, sis." I felt her smiling at me "You can take your time too."

All I can do to respond was to nod shyly, as I buried my face deeper into my sister's chest, while she gave me warmth from the hug she's giving me.

Suddenly, I felt my eyes go heavy as I fell asleep on Yang.

 _*THIRTY MINUTES LATER*_

"Ruby, wake up." I felt a voice whisper on my ear "It's time for you to go."

I slowly opened my eyes as I found myself resting against Yang's chest, before pulling myself away as I yawned tiredly.

"Visiting hours are almost over, Miss Rose." I turned to see a doctor.

"Huh?" I could barely make a word at the moment, to which he sighed.

"Caren was supposed to be the one to wake you up, but she was already assigned to another task." He crossed his arms and spoke again "As for who I am, my name is Doctor Blyne Frost."

Blyne was man in his late forties from his appearance alone, as he has short brown hair with some gray parts spread around and a small beard, hazel brown eyes and a slightly fair skin tone. He was slightly pudgy and was only two feet taller than me, probably from aging.

He was wearing a white long lab coat over a green turtleneck, beige pants and leather brown shoes. The man also wore a stethoscope around his neck and blue hospital gloves.

It took a few seconds for me to form a proper sentence as I spoke up "I assume that Yang would need some rest now, correct?"

"Indeed she does, Miss Rose." Doctor Blyne nodded in response before gesturing to the door "I believe it is for the best that you go back to your school now. You don't want to miss curfew."

"I understand." I nodded respectfully as I gathered my things and began making my way to the door.

"Hey Rubes!" I turned to see Yang smiling at me one more time "I hope you do great at Beacon."

I simply nodded in response, before walking out of the room.

As I made my way out of the building, an ambulance was heard outside and the doors were opened.

"Let's go, let's go!" I heard a nurse say as she and a couple other doctors were pushing a gurney to the emergency room.

I took a small glimpse of the person in the gurney as they passed by, and that person was a little girl with white hair and is in a very injured state.

 _"I hope that the little girl is okay."_ I thought to myself, before exiting the hospital.

* * *

 **Vale Streets**

 _"This day has certainly been interesting at best."_ I thought to myself as I walked my way back to where I was dropped from the previous bullhead, so I could ride another one back to the academy.

However, I stopped in my tracks as soon as I heard whimpering coming from one of alleyways.

In response, I narrowed my eyes and listened closely to the whimpering sounds again as moved closer to the entrance of the alleyway.

Once again, the whimpering came back, but it came from a puppy, and it sounded like it was pain.

Feeling my protective instincts taking over, I cautiously walked into said alleyway with my aura ready, should the need arise as there might be thugs lurking around as the surroundings were mostly dark.

I let my aura flare as it provided light, which served to help me find the lost puppy.

As if on cue, the whimpering came back as the puppy itself came into view, which was right in front of me.

 _"Wow, it's so ..."_ I blinked as a rare blush came to my face.

The puppy looked up and it's expression brightened as it barked happily.

 _"Cute!"_ I blinked again, before kneeling down so I could get a better view of what it looked like.

As I did, I observed that the puppy itself was a small black-headed tricolor Corgi, and it's appearance was that it had gray eyes and a bobbed tail.

Overall, the puppy was just so cute!

But to my surprise, it whimpered again as it lay on ground.

Feeling great concern for the poor puppy in front of me, I reached out to pet it and say "What's wrong? Are you hungry?"

The puppy whimpered again in response, as if to say yes.

My response? I reached out for my bag and pulled out some bread, since it was one of the foods I had packed with me for Yang, but they were never eaten. So I decided feed them to this cute little puppy instead.

It smelled the bread for a few seconds, before it barked happily and munched them down.

After a few minutes, the puppy looked up at me for a brief moment, before barking happily again as it jumped at my chest, basking in the warmth, much to my surprise. Though I didn't mind, as long as it was happy and fed.

I grabbed the little cutie from my chest and made direct eye contact with it as I brought it to my face.

The puppy barked again, and decided to lick one of my cheeks, to which I snorted as it tickled slightly.

"Do you have an owner?" I asked, but received a sad whimper in response, which means no.

With my observant side taking over, I saw that the little Corgi had no collar and it was dirty from roaming around the streets, which indicated that it was a stray.

I was baffled by this. Why did no one take him to the shelter, let alone noticed him. I also noticed that the puppy's gender was male upon looking at it's genitals.

"Do you ... want a home?" I hesitantly asked, which earned a happy bark in response as the little puppy licked my cheek again.

However, Beacon didn't allow pets or any kind of animal, but I couldn't leave him alone by himself. Who knows what kind of cruelty would wait for this dog.

"How about this?" I had an idea, but I'm not sure it would work "Since my school doesn't allow animals, I'll leave you here, until I find a way to sneak you in, understood?"

For some reason, he barked obediently in response as his tail wagged left and right.

"Okay then." I reached for my bag again, and pulled out more bread "I'll leave food for you, so you can last a week, okay?"

He barked again, as he flashed me his version of a cheerful expression.

I nodded contently and stood up, with the intention of returning to Beacon before curfew, but also to return to the little Corgi once I found a way to him into my team's dorm room.

* * *

 **Dormitory Buildings**

I managed to reach Beacon in time, as well as the dormitory buildings as I stood in front of my team's dorm room door.

 _"I need a rest."_ I mused to myself, opening the door with my scroll and entered.

Once I did, I found that Miyazaki and Shun were already asleep, with Kiyoshi reading something on his scroll.

He then noticed me and said "Hello Ruby, I believe we have classes tomorrow, which is why Shun and Miyazaki are asleep."

"And you're not?" I asked rhetorically, getting a nod of response from him.

"I have things I needed to check up on in my scroll before resting for the day." He said, his expression softening "I also had decided to wait for you, since I am worried that something might have happened to you, while you were on your own."

Kiyoshi ... actually waited for me?

This caused me to blush again, as I shook my head and quickly changed into my pajamas.

As I lay in my bed, I turn to see Kiyoshi getting ready to go to bed himself.

I then suddenly remembered what he said to me, while were camping for the night during initiation.

 _"However, I have no idea as to what purpose I would have for joining such a prestigious school."_

"Goodnight, Kiyoshi." I said quietly, so he wouldn't hear me, with a single thought coming to mind _"I still hope that you can find your own goal."_

After that thought came to mind, my eyes closed as I went into another sleep.

 **Okay done! I hope you liked this chapter as I will write one more filler chapter before the School Arc, as the students will get into rather wacky situations in normal school life.**

 **I decided not to leave questions anymore, as The Celestial Sky Dragon pointed out that it is rather tedious to make you answer them, but I still encourage you to leave your own thoughts on this chapter, and expect me to delete the questions left behind in the previous chapters.**

 **Next Chapter: The Next Morning**


	17. C11: The Next Morning

_**Hello! This will be one more filler chapter, and a quick update at that, before moving on to start the School Arc. This chapter will be short like the last one, but this one consists of only one big interaction with some ship tease ;)**_

 _ **Onto the story!**_

 **Team MRKS Dorm Room**

Ruby opens her eyes as she wakes up for the day, knowing that this was the first day of regular classes in Beacon Academy.

The first thing she noticed upon waking up, was that the room was still dark, with Kiyoshi missing from his bed, indicating that he might have waken up before her.

 _"At least he woke up before me."_ She mused thoughtfully, before reaching out to grab her scroll and checking it for the time.

Her eyes widen slightly in surprise, upon seeing that the time was four thirty in the morning, which explained why the room itself is still dark.

But that didn't stop her from getting up from her bed as she prepared her Beacon school uniform and moved into the bathroom with a bath towel over her shoulders.

She entered the room, and saw that a lot of things were already set up while she was out in Vale. The crimsonette even noticed that the hygiene products were labeled and added with name tags, which made it easier to tell which one was theirs.

 _"They must have done a lot of organizing while I was gone."_ She thought to herself, taking off her pajamas as she entered the shower.

With the cold water beginning to hit her body as she turned on the shower, she began thinking over on her time in Beacon so far.

 _"Unlike in Signal, everyone here seems nice."_ She looked at the ceiling before looking at her own hand as it clenched into a fist _"Rune, I'll make sure to keep our promise. No matter how long it takes."_

After minutes of showering, along with applying soap on her body and shampoo on her hair, she stepped out of the shower, and began applying her feminine hygiene products to parts of her body. Afterwards, she made sure to wrap her towel tightly around her torso as she stepped out of the bathroom to quickly grab her prepared uniform, and then going back inside to wear them.

Once she was inside again, she looked over the uniform she was about to wear for regular classes.

It consisted of a dark brown blazer with a gold lining, a tan blazer vest, a white long-sleeved dress shirt, a red ribbon, and a red plaid skirt. With the exception of stockings and shoes, since it depended on the student's choice.

 _"I know what to wear."_ She unwrapped her towel, and then proceeded to wear her school uniform.

 _*A FEW MINUTES LATER*_

The silver-eyed girl stepped out of the bathroom again, as she looked over to the uniform she was wearing for Beacon Academy.

 _"I think I'm comfortable with what I chose to wear."_ She thought to herself, making her way to the door.

Ruby had decided to wear the vest, dress shirt, and skirt, but left out the blazer. She also wore her usual black thigh-high stockings, and her regular brown shoes, along with her crimson red overcoat. She even left out the ribbon, in favor of a red necktie, which was usually a part of the male school uniform, but female students had the option of wearing the necktie as well.

She proceeded to open the door, and then leave the room, with her scroll inside her skirt as it was basically the key for it, as well as carrying her weapons with her.

 _"I'll see if there are any workshops for me to maintain my weapons."_ She mused to herself, walking down the hallway as she exited the dormitory buildings, with the intent of finding a room for her weapons.

* * *

 **Old Weapons Forge**

After exploring a few places, along with seeing new rooms. The girl managed to find the room she was looking for, but heard some noises from the other side of the door.

Curious, she opens the door with her scroll and entered the room, only to find her partner inside as he seemed to work on something with great concentration.

"Kiyoshi?" The crimsonette said, getting the boy's attention as he turned around to see her.

"Good morning, Ruby." Nakamura greeted, taking off his goggles "I did not expect you to be up so early."

He was wearing the male Beacon school uniform, except that he left the black blazer completely unbuttoned, his white dress shirt not tucked in, and his red necktie loosely hanging in the collar, as well as leaving out the vest. He still wore his red goggles on top of his head, his dark red fingerless gloves, and his black combat boots, to which the black pants' legs were tucked in. He is also wearing a black leather tool belt with a silver buckle.

Needless to say, he had made many changes to his school uniform.

"What are doing here at this time?" She asked, looking around the room.

"This is my workshop." He answered simply, shrugging "The headmaster had no other use for this old room, so he decided to make it my own workshop for anything I create."

 _"So this is an old room."_ The girl thought, looking around once more _"I guess that would explain why all of the things here, look like they've been used for a long time."_

"Is there a reason why you are here?" The white-haired boy asked, crossing his arms.

"Well, I was looking for a weapons forge, so I can maintain my weapons daily." His partner replied, rubbing at one of her arms.

"If that is the case, then I wouldn't mind sharing this room with you." He said, walking up to her "After all, it is rather boring being the only one in this room."

"Thank you." She bowed politely, before setting down her weapons at a nearby table.

"In any case, may I have a look at your weapons?" Kiyoshi asked, getting the girl's attention "I am curious to see how made them, let alone on your own."

"Sure, I don't mind." Ruby responded, transferring her weapons to her partner's table "But please be careful with them, I spent a lot of time working on them, especially their durability."

"If you're concerned for their well-being, then you can watch me have a look at them." He said, grabbing one of her handguns "Hmm, it seems that your handguns are Desert Eagles, one of the strongest ones around."

"Really?" The silver-eyed girl said as she stood beside him.

"However, they have a very strong kickback, which could potentially damage one of your shoulders if you're not careful in handling them." He said, observing the weapon closely as he transforms it into a gauntlet "The decision to make them transform is okay at best, since you can wear them like bracelets out in the public." afterwards, he placed the gauntlet back on the table.

He then proceeded to observe one of her twin blades, to which he says "This blade is strong enough to damage the bone armor from the Grimm, but not an ideal weapon to use in thick hordes of them."

"I know that already." She said quietly as she nodded, watching him pick up her katana and unsheathing it.

"Your blade exudes a large amount of aura, which can allow it to cut through stone and metal from it's appearance alone." The boy's amber yellow eyes went to the sheath "This one is infused with dust, which I assume will counter the amount of aura from this one." he said, holding up the katana.

"Overall, your weapons are finely made." He closed his eyes, sheathing her blade and placing it back on the table.

"If it's too much to ask," The crimsonette spoke up, getting her partner's attention "Can I see what kind of things you create in this room by yourself."

"I don't see why not." Kiyoshi shrugged, moving over to what he was concentrating on earlier.

Ruby followed him, before seeing wires set up on the table he was in.

"Are these the wires you used back at initiation?" She asked, turning to her partner.

"Yes." He simply replied, putting on his goggles "They come from the fur of a very powerful Grimm, but the said Grimm has yet to be identified by hunters, and I took upon myself to greatly enhance their strength and durability with my aura."

The boy picked up a small piece of metal and lightly pushed it down the wire, to which the metal is slowly being cut in half fully by the wire, much to his partner's surprise and awe.

"These wires are strong enough to cut through metal, since the unidentified Grimm's fur is noted be extremely durable, and can break through anything, let alone surviving them." He explained further, removing his goggles "The fur was converted into these wires by an old scientist that used to work here in Beacon, but his current whereabouts are unknown up to this day."

"Can I test them out for myself?" She asked, looking at the wires.

"You can, but be cautious when pushing something down on those strings." He reached out for rubber gloves and another set of goggles "They are extremely sharp, and the smallest tap can leave a deep cut into your delicate skin."

Ruby blushed slightly at her skin being called 'delicate' by her partner, but shook her head as she took the gloves and wore them, and the goggles as she placed them over her eyes.

Afterwards, she took another small piece of metal from the table, before doing the same action that her partner did as she lightly pushed it down on the wire.

It had the same result with the metal being cut in half, much to her own awe.

However, she released a tired yawn as soon as she took off the gloves and goggles.

"You seem tired." Nakamura spoke up, picking up a muffin and taking a bite from it "Do want a muffin?" he asked, holding up a plate of muffins.

She looked at him for a brief moment, before blinking as she took a muffin from the plate, and taking a bite as the boy placed down the plate on the table.

"Are these chocolate chip muffins?" The crimsonette asked, taking another bite from the muffin.

"The cook from the cafeteria made these and gave it to me, so I could have something to eat while I work." The white-haired boy explained, nodding in confirmation.

The girl looked at him for a second, and then looked away with a slight blush, while saying "Do you think you can ask the cook to give me the recipe of these muffins."

"You don't have to worry about that." Her partner said in a reassuring tone "The cook is a very friendly woman, she'll be more than happy to share her recipe to others."

"Okay then." She turned to face him again, before eyeing several devices in another table.

"What you're looking at are devices that I have been working on for several days." Kiyoshi said, noticing his partner gazing at the table nearby.

"Is this what you usually do outside of huntsman training?" Ruby asked, with her partner walking up to her.

"Yes." He nodded, standing beside her "I did say that I learned new skills back at initiation." he made a hand gesture towards the table with the devices "This is one of them."

To prove his own words, he walked towards the table and grabbed one of the devices as he activated it.

Afterwards, another one activated on its own as it moved around the room, with the boy using the device in his hands to control it, much to the his partner's awe.

"This device is the remote control for that mini-tank." He explained briefly, typing something into the remote control device, to which it transforms the mini-tank into a mini-airship.

"That's amazing." She said in awe, reaching out to touch the mini-sized airship.

Nakamura nodded, before letting out a tired yawn of his own, which led him to transform the airship back into tank and turning off the remote control, as he placed it back on the blade, along with picking up the tank from the floor and putting it on the table as well.

"Do you wish to have a normal conversation." He said, pointing at a small couch "I'm still feeling tired from waking up this early in the morning."

"I wouldn't mind at all." The girl nodded, following her partner to the couch as she sat down beside him.

"Other than our abilities as hunters, what do you usually do on a daily basis?" The white-haired boy asked, his head turning to face her.

"Well, I do love to bake cookies, cakes, and all kinds of desserts as a way to pass the time." She admitted, looking up in the ceiling "As well as to cook for my family, especially dinner."

"I see then, I have already shown you what I usually do outside of training." The boy cupped his chin in thought "Though I would also spend my time coming up with new devices to build and fix during my spare time."

"Maybe you can use your devices to help the people." Ruby suggested, causing him to look at her "I mean, your devices can be very beneficial to help people with their jobs and lives, so maybe you can build ones that can help improve them."

He became quiet for a few seconds before responding "That's not a bad idea, though I would have to think about it first."

"What else do I need to know about you?" She asked, bringing her legs close to her chest.

The boy turned to face her again and replied "I do have a particular fondness towards desserts or any kind of sweet food, and I have a tendency to always speak my mind without thinking of how the others would feel."

"Okay then." The silver-eyed girl nodded, before speaking about herself "Well, since we're getting to know each other better, I think it's fair that you should know more about me." she breathed in and then continued "I would sometimes play the piano at my elementary school back at Patch, as well as to write, read, and building simple things using art materials."

"You seem to have so much to do, before you joined Beacon." He said, bringing his own legs to his chest.

"Yeah, though I did get a lot of recognition for my ability to learn very quickly," She mused thoughtfully "Though I believe I don't deserve such talent."

"Why do you say that?" The white-haired boy asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Well, can I trust you with something personal?" The crimsonette said, her expression slightly serious, to which her partner nodded in response.

She took in another breath before saying "Remember when I said that I joined Beacon to keep a promise and to help others."

"Yes, I do." He nodded again.

"Well, I have a brother named Rune and we kept a promise of us growing up together as huntsmen." The silver-eyed breathed in again and continued "One of the things in that promise was find out as much as we can about our mother, since died on a mission while we were three-years old." she suddenly felt her hands trembling "I was forced to accept that she was no longer in our lives, despite connect we had to her before that." her eyes began to sting "When I asked my father about her, he just brushed off my questions and tried to make me forget about her by giving me kids' stuff."

The boy could only listen intently on what his partner was telling him.

"I ran away to a creek, and Rune found me there. That's where we started our promise on becoming great hunters." Ruby could feel her emotions running through her "However, that didn't last as he was no longer a part my life when I was five." she shook her own head and closed her eyes "I had to move on from it by myself, and that's where my talents come in." the girl opened her eyes and said "Starting at the age of six, I began studying and learning different things by myself, to the point where I ended up learning them so fast, that I ended up garnering attention from a lot of people."

"However, the attention bothered me as they asked too much questions for my comfort," she closed her eyes again "My tendency to brush off my achievements did not help my case as the people asked even more questions, regarding how I see my accomplishments as meaningless to me." she opened them again and turned to her partner "But my reason behind so, was that before my mother and twin brother died, I wanted to make them proud with what I did, because I was even closer to them than I was with my father and older sister."

She began wiping away some tears "I felt like I lost parts of myself as soon as they died, and then everything I did felt meaningless because they weren't around to see them." she grit her teeth as she clutched her knees tightly "That's why I don't believe I deserve my talents, I lost any chance of growing up with them and my efforts meant absolutely nothing a long time ago." Ruby closed her eyes again once more, as tears flowed down her eyes "I accepted the early entrance to Beacon, because they're the reason for it. They're the reason why I held on to my promise for this long." afterwards, she went silent as she looked away from her partner, wanting to keep her emotions in check.

After hearing her reasons, Kiyoshi decided to speak up "You shouldn't undermine yourself."

This seemed to get her attention as his partner turned to face him, completely teary-eyed.

"What?" She said in confusion.

"You shouldn't undermine yourself, simply because your loved ones are no longer with you." The white-haired boy said firmly, before his tone became gentle "You've come this far because of them, right? What would they think if you keep believing that your efforts are meaningless."

"How would you know about that?" The silver-eyed girl asked in a subdued tone.

"Believe it or not, I would often doubt my own skills, because I don't know whether or not they would help the people." He said, his yellow eyes staring into his partner's silver eyes "Yet I'm trying my hardest to improve them everyday, because I don't undermine myself of what achievement I have done in the past."

He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder "Even if the people closest to you aren't here anymore, I will gladly support your goals as a huntress, as well as my encouragement." he then had a ghost of a smile tugging at his lips "At least, give yourself some credit for the many things you did as a child."

Afterwards, Ruby felt her own face heating up as she flushed at things her partner said to her, she even felt her heart race upon hearing that her partner would give her his support and encouragement, especially seeing his smile, even if it was small.

"Thank you." That was all she could say, before releasing another tired yawn as she felt her eyes becoming heavy.

"I believe you should get some rest." He felt himself getting tired as well "Classes don't start until eight o' clock, so you have time to rest your eyes."

"Kiyoshi," She said quietly, without thinking "Can I sleep on your shoulder?"

He simply nodded in response, to which the girl began resting her head against his shoulder and falling asleep afterwards.

The boy could only watch how peaceful she was when she was sleeping, before using his semblance to create a blanket and then draping it over her, as a way to make her feel comfortable as she slept without a hint of disturbance.

In response, the crimsonette somehow moved herself closer to him as she continued to sleep, her head eventually landing on his chest.

Nakamura didn't want to disturb his friend, as he decided to sleep as well, with his head leaning against hers as he finally let the darkness take over him as he slept.

 **To be continued ...**

 **After this chapter, I will take a small break as I will be away with family for Christmas, I think for six days. I will also make this update quick so I'll come up with more ideas for the first chapter of the School Arc. I hope you enjoyed the small fluff at the end, because Ruby deserves love and comfort.**

 **See you all in six days, or not.**

 **Next Chapter: First Classes (Part 1)**


	18. OC Profiles

**This is not a new chapter, but a simple one that consists of the profiles of the OCs, just in case that you end up forgetting them, which is why I made this chapter to help you cement them in your minds.**

 **This will also be a double update, as it will be published along with the new chapter**

 **NOTE: This will be a long list, since there are a lot of them.**

* * *

 **Luke Knight**

 **Age: 15**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Species: Human**

 **Debut: C1: Ruby Rose**

 **Hair Color: Sandy Blonde**

 **Hair Style/Length: Short and messy**

 **Eye Color: Green**

 **Skin Tone: Fair**

 **Body Type: Slightly lean build, with toned arms and legs.**

 **Height: 5'7**

 **Normal Attire: He wears a gray hoodie over a plain white t-shirt, dark blue jeans, and light blue sneakers.**

 **Accessories: He wears his father's old dog tags.**

 **Sleepwear: He wears a white t-shirt and gray shorts.**

 **Combat Gear: He wears a full set grey armor that's ver similar to a knight's, with a light gray long-sleeved v-neck shirt, black trousers and leather brown boots underneath.**

 **Weapon/s: He wields a sword that can extend its lengths, and a diamond shaped shield that can block poweful physical attacks and can withstand projectile-based attacks.**

 **Aura Color: Light Grey**

 **Semblance: Wind Self-Enhancement**

* * *

 **Darcy Coleman**

 **Age: 15**

 **Gender: Female**

 **Species: Human**

 **Debut: C2: The Inivitation (Part 2)**

 **Hair Color: Black**

 **Hair Style/Length: Long and is usually tied into a ponytail**

 **Eye Color: Dark Brown**

 **Skin Tone: Slightly Fair**

 **Body Type: Has a fit and athletic build, especially her arms.**

 **Height: 5'6**

 **Normal Attire: She wears a dark green jacket over a maroon sleeveless blouse, black leggings, and gray sneakers.**

 **Accessories: She wears her mother's earrings.**

 **Sleepwear: She wears a light gray tank top and black short shorts.**

 **Combat Gear: She wears a black vest over a gray tank top, black pants, and dark brown combat boots.**

 **Weapon/s: She wields two heavy black gauntlets that can shoot dust rounds and can combine themselves to become a saw-off pump shotgun that shoots off dust rounds mixed with aura at a short range.**

 **Aura Color: Maroon Brown**

 **Semblance: Damage Absorption**

* * *

 **Ezra Williams**

 **Age: 17**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Species: Human**

 **Debut: C3: Beacon Academy**

 **Hair Color: Black**

 **Hair Style/Length: Short and slightly messy**

 **Eye Color: Azure Blue**

 **Skin Tone: Fair**

 **Body Type: Slightly above average with some slight muscles.**

 **Height: 5'7**

 **Normal Attire: He wears a dark blue blazer over a white dress shirt, gray jeans, and black and white sneakers.**

 **Accessories: None**

 **Sleepwear: He wears a dark gray t-shirt and black shorts.**

 **Combat Gear: He wears an advanced and modern version of a knight's armor, but lacks a helmet. He can also wear his normal attire in combat, as he wears them underneath the armor due to it being made of aura.**

 **Weapon/s: He wields a large sword that can transform into the armor (the one above), and also wields a slightly smaller sword conjured by his aura.**

 **Aura Color: Light Indigo**

 **Semblance: Electrokinesis**

* * *

 **Lily Scarlatina**

 **Age: 15**

 **Gender: Female**

 **Species: Faunus (Rabbit)**

 **Debut: C3: Beacon Academy**

 **Hair Color: Brown**

 **Hair Style/Length: Short that is styled into a bob hairstyle, with long rabbit ears.**

 **Eye Color: Hazel Brown**

 **Skin Tone: Fair**

 **Body Type: Petite, to the point where she can be mistaken for a twelve year old child.**

 **Height: 4'9**

 **Normal Attire: She wears a light brown trench coat over an olive green turtleneck sweater, a maroon brown skirt, black stockings, and regular brown shoes.**

 **Accessories: She wears a huge red scarf that covers her neck.**

 **Sleepwear: She wears light green bunny pajamas.**

 **Combat Gear: She still wears her normal attire in combat.**

 **Weapon/s: She doesn't really wield weapons, but she carries large spellbook that contains various spells involving her aura and dust, as well as a dust satchel.**

 **Aura Color: Mint Green**

 **Semblance: Knowledge Implantation**

* * *

 **Kiyoshi Nakamura**

 **Age: 15**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Species: Human**

 **Debut: C3: Beacon Academy**

 **Hair Color: White with Light Blue tips.**

 **Hair Style/Length: Short spiked messy hair.**

 **Eye Color: Yellow**

 **Skin Tone: Slightly Fair**

 **Body Type: Average build**

 **Height: 5'3**

 **Normal Attire: He wears a long-sleeved gray v-neck shirt, dark gray jeans, and white sneakers.**

 **Accessories: He wears light red goggles on top of his head and dark red fingerless gloves.**

 **Sleepwear: He wears a black t-shirt and dark gray shorts.**

 **Combat Gear: He still wears most of his normal attire, but additionally wears a dark gray overcoat and a black belt with a silver buckle, and replaces his sneakers with black combat boots.**

 **Weapon/s: Doesn't have a specific weapon as his semblance allows him any weapon it creates.**

 **Aura Color: Silvery Gray**

 **Semblance: Creation**

* * *

 **Shun Fujimori**

 **Age: 17**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Species: Human**

 **Debut: C4: Making New Friends**

 **Hair Color: Brown**

 **Hair Style/Length: Somewhat messy**

 **Eye Color: Sky Blue (Himself), Amber with some Red (Shin)**

 **Skin Tone: Fair**

 **Body Type: Slightly average build.**

 **Height: 5'10**

 **Normal Attire: He wears a black jacket with white lines on top of the sleeves and was opened slightly with a gray t-shirt underneath, black shorts, and dark gray boots that reaches mid-leg with white socks of the same length.**

 **Accessories: He would occassionally wear an old light gray scarf.**

 **Sleepwear: He wears a light gray t-shirt with black shorts.**

 **Combat Gear: He still wears his normal attire in combat.**

 **Weapon/s: Silver spiked gauntlets with dust cannons attached to them, resembling a knight's gauntlet. They can transform into silver knuckles as a way for them to be worn in public.**

 **Aura Color: Yellow**

 **Semblance: Possession**

* * *

 **Yukino Miyazaki**

 **Age: 15**

 **Gender: Female**

 **Species: Faunus (Wolf)**

 **Debut: C4: Making New Friends**

 **Hair Color: White**

 **Hair Style/Length: Long hair tied into a ponytail, with wolf ears.**

 **Eye Color: Icy Blue**

 **Skin Tone: Extremely Pale**

 **Body Type: Average, but with noticeable curves on her chest and waist.**

 **Height: 5'4**

 **Normal Attire: She wears a black leather jacket with white and gray highlights, over a light gray dress shirt with only one side tucked in, a dark gray short skirt, and black knee-high boots with gray socks of the same length.**

 **Accessories: Small knife holsters can be seen on both sides of each boot.**

 **Sleepwear: She wears a black hoodie over a grey t-shirt and gray sweatpants.**

 **Combat Gear: She still wears her normal attire in combat, but additionally wears a dark brown leather belt with gun holsters on the left and on the right, and black leather fingerless gloves.**

 **Weapon/s: She wields a long-ranged, fifty caliber sniper rifle, with the barrel length being seven-hundred centimeters, and the actual length being one-hundred and thirty-eight centimeters, but they can only carry eight dust rounds at a time. The sniper can transform into an M4A6 rifle that can hold up to thirty rounds. She also wields two Five Seven pistols that can hold up to twenty rounds.**

 **Aura Color: Icy Blue**

 **Semblance: Ice and Snow**

* * *

 **Kiara Belladonna**

 **Age: 17**

 **Gender: Female**

 **Species: Faunus (Cat)**

 **Debut: C4: Making New Friends**

 **Hair Color: Black**

 **Hair Style/Length: Long hair tied into a low ponytail, with cat ears.**

 **Eye Color: Amber**

 **Skin Tone: Fair**

 **Body Type: Well-defined, with a slightly ample chest and toned legs.**

 **Height: 5'6**

 **Normal Attire: She wears a long-sleeved black jacket, over a white dress shirt underneath that's not tucked in, light gray short shorts, and knee-high black boots with dark gray thigh-high stockings.**

 **Accessories: She wears black gloves that completely covers her hands.**

 **Sleepwear: She wears a white tank top and dark gray short shorts.**

 **Combat Gear: She still wears her normal attire, but removes her jacket and gloves and rolls up her sleeves.**

 **Weapon/s: She has prosthetic arms under her clothes that are armed with weapons, with chains, blades, claws, etc.**

 **Aura Color: Dark Gray**

 **Semblance: Bloodlust Self-Enhancement**

* * *

 **Ryoma Yukimura**

 **Age: 17**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Species: Human**

 **Debut: C4: Making New Friends**

 **Hair Color: Reddish Purple**

 **Hair Style/Length: Spiked hair that reaches the end of his neck.**

 **Eye Color: Dark Brown**

 **Skin Tone: Slightly Tanned**

 **Body Type: Slightly muscular, but still thin.**

 **Height: 6'3**

 **Normal Attire: He wears a maroon jacket over a dark purple long-sleeved shirt, black jeans, and brown leather boots.**

 **Accessories: He wears yellow sunglasses on top of his head, but only in his normal attire.**

 **Sleepwear: He wears a black tank top and purple shorts.**

 **Combat Gear: He wears a dark brown leather overcoat over a light purple dress shirt, black leather pants with a brown leather belt tied around them, and light brown leather shoes with black socks.**

 **Weapon/s: He wields a rather large double-edged greatsword with a maroon strap.**

 **Aura Color: Celestial Sky Blue**

 **Semblance: Wind**

* * *

 **Kyosuke Hayashi**

 **Age: 21**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Species: Human**

 **Debut: C5: Initiation Begins (Part 2)**

 **Hair Color: Dark Brown**

 **Hair Style/Length: Messy hair that reached the end of his neck.**

 **Eye Color: Hazel**

 **Skin Tone: Slightly Tanned**

 **Body Type: Lean build, while remaining slim.**

 **Height: 6'6**

 **Normal Attire: He wears a plain gray t-shirt, black jeans and gray sneakers.**

 **Accessories: He wears a necklace made by his mother.**

 **Sleepwear: He wears a white t-shirt and gray checkered pajama pants.**

 **Combat Gear: He wears a black trench coat over a black suit and tie, with a dark gray dress shirt underneath, and black combat boots.**

 **Weapon/s: He wields a black katana blade, concealed by a bulky mechanical sheath.**

 **Aura Color: Black**

 **Semblance: ?**

* * *

 **Cayden Walsh**

 **Age: 17**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Species: Faunus (Wolf)**

 **Debut: C5: Initiation Begins (Part 2)**

 **Hair Color: Light Silver**

 **Hair Style/Length: Short and messy, with his bangs covering his right eye, as well as having wolf ears.**

 **Eye Color: Dark Gray (Left Eye), Crimson Red (Right Eye)**

 **Skin Tone: Tanned**

 **Body Type: Lean build**

 **Height: 6'4**

 **Normal Attire: He wears a dark gray jacket over black dress shirt, gray trousers, and dark brown leather shoes.**

 **Accessories: None**

 **Sleepwear: He wears a red tank top and light grey shorts**

 **Combat Gear: He wears a dark red trench coat over black body armor, which consisted of a black tight and sleeveless shirt with silver accents and a metal plate on his collar, and black pants that has two black straps on his thighs, and another two strapped around his shins separate from each other, and black metal plated shoes, which are attached to his trousers. He also wears black fingerless gloves.**

 **Weapon/s: He wields a black metallic bow and a small quiver of arrows. The bow can be deattached into twin blades.**

 **Aura Color: Crimson Red**

 **Semblance: Semblance Reading**

* * *

 **Magnar Pederson**

 **Age: 17**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Species: Faunus (Bull)**

 **Debut: C5: Initiation Begins (Part 2)**

 **Hair Color: Red**

 **Hair Style/Length: A small mohawk, with bull horns on the sides of his head, and a small goatee.**

 **Eye Color: Green**

 **Skin Tone: Slightly Fair**

 **Body Type: Very muscular, as well as having a large body size.**

 **Height: 7'2**

 **Normal Attire: He wears a dark blue tracksuit, with a white t-shirt underneath the jacket, and brown sandals.**

 **Accessories: He wears a green pendant around his neck.**

 **Sleepwear: He wears an old white tank top and light blue boxers**

 **Combat Gear: He wears a large bronze chestplate over a white tank top with bronze spaulders, black pants with pieces of armor, and gray sandals.**

 **Weapon/s: He wields a large greatsword.**

 **Aura Color: Auburn Red**

 **Semblance: Body Hardening**

* * *

 **Shizuka Aoki**

 **Age: 15**

 **Gender: Female**

 **Species: Human**

 **Debut: C5: Initiation Begins (Part 2)**

 **Hair Color: Sky Blue**

 **Hair Style/Length: Long hair tied into twin tails, with spiked bangs swept to the right.**

 **Eye Color: Bright Aqua Blue**

 **Skin Tone: Pale**

 **Body Type: Petite, but has some slight curves on her chest and waist.**

 **Height: 4'11**

 **Normal Attire: She wears a black dress with a white accent, and the chest, sleeves, and hood being blue in color, a three-layer ruffled dark blue skirt, black boots with four belt straps and black thigh-high stockings.**

 **Accessories: She wears a big collar that covers her mouth, with multiple studs and buckles.**

 **Sleepwear: She wears a light blue nightgown.**

 **Combat Gear: She still wears her normal attire in combat, but additionally wears a big black belt with multiple studs and buckles that matches her collar, as well as gun holsters on the left and on the right, and black fingerless gloves.**

 **Weapon/s: She wields a large scoped M4A6 dust rifle with a leather strap, and two Desert Eagle pistols on her belt.**

 **Aura Color: Light Aqua Blue**

 **Semblance: Self-Enhancement**

* * *

 **Riley White**

 **Age: 17**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Species: Human**

 **Debut: C5: Initiation Begins (Part 2)**

 **Hair Color: Light Gray**

 **Hair Style/Length: Long hair tied into a ponytail, with bangs that nearly cover his left eye.**

 **Eye Color: Dark Blue**

 **Skin Tone: Fair**

 **Body Type: Petite build, with a very effeminate face, as well as soft eyes and long eyelashes, but has some slight muscles on his arms and legs.**

 **Height: 5'2**

 **Normal Attire: He wears a cobalt blue hoodie over a light gray t-shirt, black jeans and light gray sneakers.**

 **Accessories: He wears pink diamond dangling earrings on his ears.**

 **Sleepwear: He wears a dark gray sweatshirt and brown checkered pajama pants.**

 **Combat Gear: He wears a black suit and tie, with a white dress shirt underneath, and black combat boots. He also wears black gloves, as well as a light brown leather belt that holds his weapon.**

 **Weapon/s: He wields a combat knife that can transform into a nightstick, baton, and a stun baton.**

 **Aura Color: Silvery White**

 **Semblance: Portals**

* * *

 **Ajax Silver**

 **Age: 17**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Species: Faunus (Wolf)**

 **Debut: C5: Initiation Begins (Part 2)**

 **Hair Color: Black, with a streak of White on the bangs.**

 **Hair Style/Length: Messy hair that reached the end of his neck.**

 **Eye Color: Light Gray**

 **Skin Tone: Slightly Fair**

 **Body Type: Slightly lean build, and has a wolf tail.**

 **Height: 5'7**

 **Normal Attire: He wears a light gray jacket over a white hoodie, gray jeans, and black sneakers.**

 **Accessories: None**

 **Sleepwear: He wears a light gray long-sleeved shirt and dark gray checkered pajama pants.**

 **Combat Gear: He still wears his normal attire in combat, but replaces his jacket for a black leather one, and his sneakers for black combat boots.**

 **Weapon/s: He wields a normal length sword, with a sheath attached with a gray strap.**

 **Aura Color: Silvery Grey**

 **Semblance: Gravity Manipulation**

* * *

 **Valerie Stark**

 **Age: 17**

 **Gender: Female**

 **Species: Human**

 **Debut: C5: Initiation Begins (Part 2)**

 **Hair Color: Black with Light Blue streaks in various spots.**

 **Hair Style/Length: Short and spiked**

 **Eye Color: Cold Blue**

 **Skin Tone: Fair**

 **Body Type: Average, with a barely noticeable bust.**

 **Height: 5'5**

 **Normal Attire: She wears a dark blue vest over a light blue long-sleeved shirt, gray jeans, and red and white sneakers.**

 **Accessories: She wears two black bobby pins on the right side of her hair, but only in her normal attire.**

 **Sleepwear: She wears regular light gray pajamas.**

 **Combat Gear: She wears a black jacket with a cyan blue accent on the torso and several straps and accents of silvers, the coat tails have sky blue coloring on the inside, while her sleeve cuffs are rolled up to reveal white coloring and black lining, black denim pants with a single strap hanging from each hip, and around her neck is an indigo cloth held with an ornament.**

 **Weapon/s: She wields a thin sword, with a dust-infused sheath.**

 **Aura Color: Cyan Blue**

 **Semblance: Enhanced Super Speed**

* * *

 **Yuna Himura**

 **Age: 21**

 **Gender: Female**

 **Species: Human**

 **Debut: C6: Forming Bonds**

 **Hair Color: Scarlet Red**

 **Hair Style/Length: Long and wavy**

 **Eye Color: Emerald Green**

 **Skin Tone: Fair**

 **Body Type: Rather fragile, but is somewhat fit, as well as being well-endowed.**

 **Height: 5'8**

 **Normal Attire: She wears a forest green cardigan over a blue dress, and knee-high brown leather boots.**

 **Accessories: She always wears a single white glove on her right hand.**

 **Sleepwear: She wears a white spaghetti strap nightgown.**

 **Combat Gear: She wears a white lab coat over a light pink sleeveless blouse, a dark blue pencil skirt, and gray flats with black stockings.**

 **Weapon/s: ?**

 **Aura Color: Scarlet Red**

 **Semblance: Aura Replenishment**

* * *

 **Makoto Himura**

 **Age: 18**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Species: Human**

 **Debut: C7: When Dawn Rises**

 **Hair Color: Dark Red**

 **Hair Style/Length: Messy hair that's swept to the left, with a small tuft of hair on the right.**

 **Eye Color: Light Green**

 **Skin Tone: Fair**

 **Body Type: Average, but is not by any means weak.**

 **Height: 5'9**

 **Normal Attire: He wears a yellow v-neck sweater over a white polo shirt, blue jeans, and brown leather shoes.**

 **Accessories: He wears black square transparent eyeglasses.**

 **Sleepwear: He wears baby blue pajamas.**

 **Combat Gear: He wears a white dress shirt a light gray semi-formal vest and a black necktie, black pants, and black boots with white laces on them. He also has a dark gray overcoat draped on his shoulders, as well as black gloves.**

 **Weapon/s: He doesn't really wield weapons, but carries a thick spellbook filled with dust and aura spells.**

 **Aura Color: Pure White**

 **Semblance: Aura Portals**

* * *

 **Doreen Sullivan**

 **Age: 18**

 **Gender: Female**

 **Species: Human**

 **Debut: C8: The Upperclassmen (Part 1)**

 **Hair Color: Black with Purple streaks on her bangs.**

 **Hair Style/Length: Long hair tied into a ponytail**

 **Eye Color: Dark Red**

 **Skin Tone: Very Pale**

 **Body Type: Slightly average build, with a modestly sized bust.**

 **Height: 5'7**

 **Normal Attire: She wears a black jacket over a dark gray long-sleeved shirt, white short skirt, and black spiked boots with knee-high black socks.**

 **Accessories: She wears a black beanie on her head with a skull printed in the front, but only in her normal attire.**

 **Sleepwear: She wears a rock and roll designed black t-shirt and purple and black horizontally striped pants.**

 **Combat Gear: She wears a black trench coat over a black long-sleeved v-neck shirt, dark gray pants, and black leather boots. She also wears black fingerless gloves, and a small gray scarf that covered her neck.**

 **Weapon/s: She wields a seemingly large M4A6 rifle, that can transform into a large metallic scythe.**

 **Aura Color: Black**

 **Semblance: Shadows**

* * *

 **Nagisa Mizushima**

 **Age: 18**

 **Gender: Female**

 **Species: Faunus (Fish)**

 **Debut: C8: The Upperclassmen (Part 1)**

 **Hair Color: Platinum Blonde**

 **Hair Style/Length: Long that reaches the end of her back.**

 **Eye Color: Cerulean Blue**

 **Skin Tone: Slightly Fair**

 **Body Type: Curvaceous with D-cup breasts, slightly wide hips, and is perfectly fit, along with noticeable fish fins on the sides of her head.**

 **Height: 5'6**

 **Normal Attire: She wears a dark blue turtleneck sweater, baby blue short skirt, and white knee-high boots.**

 **Accessories: She wears black circular transparent eyeglasses, but only in her normal attire.**

 **Sleepwear: She wears a seafoam green nightgown.**

 **Combat Gear: She wears a yellow raincoat cloak over an armored light blue bikini top, a dark blue combat skirt, and black boots with black fishnet stockings. She also wore a brown leather belt with pouches around her skirt.**

 **Weapon/s: She wields a medium-sized metallic trident.**

 **Aura Color: Light Blue**

 **Semblance: Water**

* * *

 **Travis Jones**

 **Age: 18**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Species: Faunus (Bear)**

 **Debut: C8: The Upperclassmen (Part 1)**

 **Hair Color: Brown**

 **Hair Style/Length: Shoulder-length wavy hair, with bear ears.**

 **Eye Color: Dark Green**

 **Skin Tone: Fair**

 **Body Type: Slightly muscular, with broad shoulders.**

 **Height: 6'5**

 **Normal Attire: He wears a dark gray hoodie over a black tank top, gray shorts, and red running shoes.**

 **Accessories: None**

 **Sleepwear: He only wears black shorts**

 **Combat Gear: He wears a silver chestplate over a black t-shirt, along with spaulders and gauntlets, gray pants, and black combat boots. He also wears a brown leather belt that stores magazine rounds.**

 **Weapon/s: He wields a double edged battleaxe, that can be deattached into two seperate axes that shoot dust rounds.**

 **Aura Color: Brown**

 **Semblance: Transformation**

* * *

 **Kirino Amano**

 **Age: 18**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Species: Human**

 **Debut: C8: The Upperclassmen (Part 1)**

 **Hair Color: Rose Pink**

 **Hair Style/Length: Shoulder length tied into two low pigtails.**

 **Eye Color: Sky Blue**

 **Skin Tone: Fair**

 **Body Type: Petite, with a very effeminate face, soft eyes, and no visible muscles.**

 **Height: 5'5**

 **Normal Attire: He wears a sleeveless gray hoodie over a green polo shirt, dark blue jeans, and gray and white sneakers with black socks.**

 **Accessories: He usually wears gray headphones around his neck, but only in his normal attire.**

 **Sleepwear: He wears a white dress shirt and black shorts.**

 **Combat Gear: He wears an olive green hooded cloak over a white-blue shirt with white sleeves and with some golden lines with a brown line around the middle of the sleeves and shirt, white trousers, and brown boots with golden lines around them. He also wears a light green cloth around his neck, and black gloves in his hands.**

 **Weapon/s: He wields a large white bow and a quiver of light arrows.**

 **Aura Color: Grayish White**

 **Semblance: The Mist**

* * *

 **Yuuki Sakurako**

 **Age: 18**

 **Gender: Female**

 **Species: Faunus (Cat)**

 **Debut: C8: The Upperclassmen (Part 1)**

 **Hair Color: Bright Blonde**

 **Hair Style/Length: Long hair tied into a ponytail, let down when in combat.**

 **Eye Color: Bright Blue**

 **Skin Tone: Fair**

 **Body Type: Petite build, with a small bust.**

 **Height: 5'4**

 **Normal Attire: She wears a dark blue jacket over a light blue sundress with a flower design, and white thigh-high boots with black socks underneath.**

 **Accessories: She ties her ponytail with a black bow, but only in her normal attire.**

 **Sleepwear: She wears a baby blue nightgown.**

 **Combat Gear: Her combat gear would depend on which card she would use, but her most used one consists of a white long-sleeved coat with a blue collar over a dark blue long-sleeved dress, a sky blue skirt with a white trim, and black leggings with dark gray diamonds that cover the sides of the legs and black heels. The coat has a flower-like pattern with three petals and has two ribbons attached to it. Her hair was held back by a white headband. In her normal attire, she would wear a black belt around her dress that carries a box of cards.**

 **Weapon/s: Like her combat gear, her weapons would depend on which card she would use, but she mostly wields dual Desert Eagle pistols. The cards she would carry on her belt, contain aura that would allow her to change her combat gear and weapons.**

 **Aura Color: Sky Blue**

 **Semblance: Phantom Phase**

* * *

 **Natalie Lane**

 **Age: 18**

 **Gender: Female**

 **Species: Human**

 **Debut: C8: The Upperclassmen (Part 1)**

 **Hair Color: Black**

 **Hair Style/Length: Short, that's styled into a boyish pixie cut.**

 **Eye Color: Dark Brown**

 **Skin Tone: Slightly Tanned**

 **Body Type: Slightly muscular, with visible muscles in her arms and is fairly well-endowed.**

 **Height: 5'8**

 **Normal Attire: She wears a black sleeveless muscle shirt, gray jeans, and black boots.**

 **Accessories: None**

 **Sleepwear: She wears a black sports bra and short shorts.**

 **Combat Gear: She wears a gray vest over a sleeveless white dress shirt that is unbuttoned slightly, exposing parts of her cleavage, black leather pants, and black leather boots. She also wears a red bandanna that covers her forehead, black fingerless gloves, and black belt that carried various handguns and blades.**

 **Weapon/s: She wields a large machine gun, and carries various handguns and blades on her belt.**

 **Aura Color: Dark Brown**

 **Semblance: Earth Maker**

* * *

 **Onyx Kearney**

 **Age: 18**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Species: Faunus (Fox)**

 **Debut: C8: The Upperclassmen (Part 1)**

 **Hair Color: Black, with small White tips on his fox ears.**

 **Hair Style/Length: Short and spiked, with fox ear.**

 **Eye Color: Dark Gray**

 **Skin Tone: Slighty Pale**

 **Body Type: Average build, has some muscles on his arms and legs**

 **Height: 5'10**

 **Normal Attire: He wears a long black jacket with a white fur-trimmed hood, over a gray v-neck t-shirt, black jeans, and black leather shoes.**

 **Accessories: None**

 **Sleepwear: He wears a black long-sleeved v-neck shirt and gray pants**

 **Combat Gear: He still wears his normal attire in combat, but additionally wears a dark gray belt that carries twin blades and a couple of throwing knives.**

 **Weapon/s: He wields twin blades and carries throwing knives on his belt.**

 **Aura Color: Dark Gray**

 **Semblance: Thought Shift**

* * *

 **Kiyomi Mizuhara**

 **Age: 20**

 **Gender: Female**

 **Species: Human**

 **Debut: C8: The Upperclassmen (Part 3)**

 **Hair Color: Black**

 **Hair Style/Length: Long hair that reached mid-back**

 **Eye Color: Light Purple**

 **Skin Tone: Pale**

 **Body Type: Slightly average, but with a moderately sized bust and slightly toned legs.**

 **Height: 5'6**

 **Normal Attire: She wears a dark green v-neck sweater with a white dress shirt and a black necktie underneath, a light gray short skirt, and black knee-high boots with dark gray thigh-high stockings.**

 **Accessories: She would usually carry a black satchel**

 **Sleepwear: She wears a light purple nightgown**

 **Combat Gear: She still wears her normal attire in combat, but additionally wears a dark gray long coat, a dark brown belt around her skirt, and black gloves.**

 **Weapon/s: ?**

 **Aura Colot: Light Purple**

 **Semblance: Grimm Detection**

* * *

 **Edward Raison**

 **Age: 21**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Species: Human**

 **Debut: C9: Teams (Part 2)**

 **Hair Color: Brown**

 **Hair Style/Length: Neatly swept to the left**

 **Eye Color: Light Hazel**

 **Skin Tone: Fair**

 **Body Type: Normal, but fit enough to be a professional huntsman.**

 **Height: 6'0**

 **Normal Attire: He wears a light blue blazer over an olive green sweater vest and beige dress shirt, black trousers, and brown leather boots.**

 **Accessories: He wears gray square transparent glasses.**

 **Sleepwear: He wears a plain white t-shirt and dark gray sweatpants**

 **Combat Gear: ?**

 **Aura Color: Beige**

 **Semblance: ?**

* * *

 **Okay! This chapter is made, just in case that you end up forgetting an OC or two, I hope this chapter is helpful as the next chapter will be the real one. ;)**


	19. C12: First Classes (Part 1)

_**DOUBLE UPDATE TIME! This will be the first chapter for the School Arc and it will be a two parter, and I appreciate the amount of follows I have so far.**_

 _ **Happy reading~!**_

 **Old Weapons Forge**

Ruby slowly opens her eyes as the first thing she felt was warmth, feeling her body covered in a blanket and her head resting against something comfortable.

 _"I wonder what's the time now?"_ She thought to herself, moving her head to look around.

After a few seconds of looking around, she noticed that she was resting on her partner's chest, to which she flushed in embarrassment.

 _"H-Huh?"_ The girl couldn't form any thoughts, as Kiyoshi started to wake up.

When the boy noticed that his partner was looking at him, he wordlessly checked his scroll for the time, and immediately looked the crimsonette in the eyes.

"It's seven thirty," He said, bringing up his scroll for the silver-eyed girl to see "We should get to classes now."

She could only nod dumbly in response, as both of them stood up from the couch and made their way to classes.

* * *

 **Hallways**

"Hey guys!" Shun waved, seeing his two other teammates in sight.

He was wearing the male Beacon Academy school uniform, but leaves out the blazer and rolls up the sleeves of the dress shirt to the elbow.

"Might I ask where you two have been?" Yukino asked, raising an eyebrow as she crossed her arms.

She was wearing the female Beacon Academy school uniform, but leaves her blazer completely unbuttoned and the dress shirt not tucked in, with both sleeves rolled up to the elbow, leaves out the vest, and chooses to wear the necktie instead of the ribbon, but is tied loosely, as well as wearing her fingerless gloves and boots, but with black knee-high stockings.

"We apologize for our near tardiness," Kiyoshi spoke up, as soon as he and Ruby catch up to them as they catch their breath slightly "We were sleeping at the old weapons forge."

"Really?" The brown-haired boy impishly grinned, seeing the crimsonette's blushing red face.

"Can we just enter class now, please!" The girl exclaimed, not wanting to be teased.

"Just be glad that not everyone is here yet." The wolf faunus said, entering the classroom.

The others followed their new leader into the classroom with no complaint, other than a few incoherent mutterings from the silver-eyed girl about sleeping on someone else's chest without thinking.

* * *

 **Classroom 1**

The classroom was set up like a high school's, as it had chairs and desks set up in rows and columns, with a teacher's desk and blackboard in front of the first row of chairs, and cabinets at the very back.

 _"I thought Beacon had lecture halls."_ Ruby thought, looking around the classroom _"In fact, this room reminds me of the classrooms in Signal Academy."_

"Yo!" She turned to see a new person smiling and waving at her "The name's Ajax Silver, you?"

"Ruby Rose." The girl answered quickly, immediately making her way to a seat.

Ajax pouted at her response, before a hand was placed on his shoulder, with him turning around to see Valerie smirking at him.

She was wearing the male Beacon Academy school uniform, with little to no accessories or changes, other than two bobby pins seen on the right side of her short hair.

"Val, did you really have to wear a guy's uniform." He said, looking at his partner.

He was also wearing the male uniform, but leaves out the blazer and vest, and with the necktie tied loosely, and with the dress shirt's sleeves rolled up to the elbow.

"Still have to keep it a secret." The hidden girl shrugged "But call me Victor, since you, the team, and the teachers are the only ones that know."

"Fine." The black-haired boy sighed, but still smiled nonetheless.

"I wonder who will be our teacher?" Lily asked quietly from her seat, trying not to draw attention to herself.

She was wearing the female school uniform, but swapped out the blazer with a cream colored v-neck sweater, and still wears her coat and scarf.

"Probably some old dude or somethin'." Ryoma responded, lacing his hands behind his head as his feet were on his desk.

He was wearing the male school uniform, but leaves out the necktie and vest, and leaves his blazer completely unbuttoned.

"I would advise not to disrespect a teacher, regardless of who they are, Mister Yukimura." Ezra chided, shaking his head.

The Schnee butler was wearing the male school uniform, but leaves the blazer completely unbuttoned.

"Hello Ezra," Weiss waved at her childhood friend in a friendly manner "How is your new team?"

She was wearing the female uniform, but wears white knee-high socks.

"Weiss, I believe all of us are getting along well, because of our leader." He responded politely, turning to see his mistress, to which the both of them end up having a conversation about their teams.

Blake stared at Kiara, who sent her a cold look before turning away, as she pondered on how to earn her forgiveness.

"How do I get her to talk to me?" The hidden faunus questioned to herself quietly.

She wearing the female school uniform, but switched out the ribbon for a necktie.

"I see now!" Magnar shouted from behind, startling his partner "You have problems with your identical twin!"

The bull faunus was wearing the male school uniform, but with the sleeves of the blazer and dress shirt ripped out due to his body size.

Cayden can only shake his head at his teammate's loud voice, as he was wearing the male school uniform, but leaves out the necktie only.

"I-I'm nervous." Shizuka stuttered, shifting in her seat.

The blue-haired girl was wearing the female school uniform, but wears a blue hoodie instead of a blazer and vest over the dress shirt, wears the necktie loosely, and wears white thigh-high stockings and still wears her boots.

"No one will judge you for it, Shizuka." Riley spoke, crossing his arms.

He was wearing the male school uniform, with little to no changes to it, other than his necktie being tied loosely.

Kiara could only stare at the door as she patiently waited for the homeroom teacher to arrive, with her wearing the female school uniform, but additionally wears her gloves to conceal parts of her prosthetic arms.

"Hey Ren!" Nora shouted, getting her best friend's attention "I wonder what our teacher looks like!?"

She was wearing the female school uniform, but leaves out the blazer.

"We'll find out once they arrive." Ren shook his head at her voice.

The boy was wearing the male school uniform, but swapped out the blazer with a cream colored v-neck sweater.

 _"I just hope they won't be strict."_ Jaune thought, slouched on his desk.

He was wearing the male school uniform, but with the blazer completely unbuttoned.

"It seems Team CRDL are the only ones that are not present yet." Pyrrha noticed that the four team of boys have yet to arrive, as she wears the female school uniform, but wears black leggings.

As if on cue, Team CRDL enters the classroom, with some looking irritated.

"At least we came on time." Dove said, catching his breath.

"But we were almost late you bastards!" Sky shouted irritably, also catching his breath.

Both of them were wearing the male school uniform, with no changes to it.

"Just be glad we're here now." Russel said, making his way to an empty seat.

The mohawk boy was wearing the male school uniform, but leaves out the vest and necktie.

"Shit, more freaks are here." Cardin cursed under his breath, seeing more faunus in the classroom.

He was wearing the male school uniform, but leaves out the vest, and leaves the blazer completely unbuttoned.

Before the boy would make another racist remark, he was silenced by the glares from Miyazaki, Ruby and Kiara, causing him to mutter as he took a seat in an empty one.

 _*FIVE MINUTES LATER*_

Five minutes have passed, with students still waiting for their homeroom teacher.

"I wonder what's taking him so long." Ruby said quietly from her seat.

"Sorry we're late!" A new voice shouted, getting the students' attention.

They turned to see two new students enter the classroom, with a male student was carrying the female one.

"My name is Marty Asher!" The male student introduced himself, before introducing the female student on his back "This is Rika Kurosawa, and we're sorry for being late!"

Marty, the male student, has black spiky hair that is spread all over, grayish blue eyes and a slightly fair complexion. He has a rather thin and lanky build, especially in his arms.

He was wearing the male school uniform, but leaves out the necktie and vest, as the boy looked like he put it on at the last second.

Rika, the female student, has long dark purple hair that reached her back, light blue eyes that are now seen as she opens them and a slightly pale complexion. She has a rather curvaceous physique as her D-cup breasts were pressed against the boy's back.

She was not wearing the Beacon school uniform, as she was wearing a pink lacy nightgown.

"She was still asleep," The spiky haired boy breathed " So I had to carry her out of bed."

"That's interesting." A new voice said, startling both students "But that'll wait for now, because class will start now."

"Yes sir!" Marty and Rika shouted, with the latter releasing herself from the former, before both of them take their seats.

The homeroom teacher looked around, as they wore a black suit and tie, with a white dress shirt underneath.

"Hello students." The teacher said, before introducing themselves "My name is Kyosuke Hayashi, Beacon alumni, and I'll be your homeroom teacher."

"Sir, why are you late?" Weiss questioned, raising her hand.

"Sorry about that." Kyosuke apologized, waving his hand "I had a long talk with the headmaster."

 _"So our homeroom teacher will be an alumni from Beacon itself."_ Kiyoshi thought to himself, scrutinizing the man in front, before looking at his partner, as she looked back at him as well.

"Now then," The Beacon alumni took on a serious expression "Let's start class."

 **To be continued ...**

 **Part two will be coming soon!**

 **Next Chapter: First Classes (Part Two)**


	20. C12: First Classes (Part 2)

_**I'm just gonna get into this chapter, since I don't have anything to say at the moment, other than introducing new semblances, which is what this chapter is mostly about.**_

 _ **Happy reading! ;)**_

 **Classroom**

"Now then," The Beacon alumni took on a serious expression "Let's start class."

The students all took their seats, as their homeroom teacher observed each one with a calculating expression.

"Where's Miss Smith, Mister Asher?" He asked the spiky haired boy, who visibly flinched upon being called.

"Uh, she's in our dorm." The boy answered hesitantly "She's still focused on building that airship."

"I see then," Kyosuke closed his eyes, before opening one of them "But will she ever attend classes, since her lack of attendance is the reason why she's held back." he then opened his other eye as he continued to speak "Those who are faunus here in this classroom, please raise your hand."

In response, Miyazaki, Lily, Ajax, Cayden, Kiara and Magnar raised their hands, with Marty adding "For all of your information, Alex is a cat faunus."

"Freaks." Cardin muttered under his breath, but that didn't go unnoticed by the man in front.

"Would you mind repeating that, Mister Winchester?" The young adult asked in an eerily calm tone.

Narrowing his eyes, the boy stood up and said "Why do I have to be in the same class as these freaks!?"

"Is there a problem you have with the faunus?" He asked, his expression becoming unreadable.

"Yeah!" The bulky teen growled, pointing at the petite rabbit faunus "For all we know, she might be a member of that group of animals that kill humans like us!"

Lily began bursting into tears upon hearing the accusation pointed at her, much to the anger of Ruby and Ryoma.

Before the latter would stand up in his seat, Hayashi instantly appeared behind Cardin, as he placed his hand on his shoulder, causing him to widen his eyes in fear as he felt the dark aura coming from behind him.

"Let me make this clear to you," He said ominously, with his eyes hardening "I will not tolerate any kind of racism in this class, understood?"

"Y-Yes sir!" The boy stuttered, trembling in fear.

"Good." The dark aura immediately disappeared, with the boy sitting down, and homeroom teacher walking back to his desk "I apologize if you had to witness such an act, but I made it perfectly clear to Mister Winchester that I will not tolerate racism of any kind, understood?"

The students all nodded respectfully in response, especially the rest of Team CRDL.

"Since the headmaster has already informed me of your names and semblances," He said, crossing his arms "We will start classes right away."

As soon as most of the students bring out their textbooks, their teacher spoke once more.

"However," Kyosuke smiled, looking at each student "This class will be different, because I will test your semblances right away." he said, surprising most of the students.

"Sir, what do you mean by that?" Ruby asked, just as surprised as everyone else.

"I asked for Professor Goodwitch's permission to use the amphitheater and she accepted." He explained, heading for the door "I will personally evaluate your semblances and see how each of them can strengthen your team dynamics and overall contribution in combat."

With that, he then said "Meet me in the amphitheater in fifteen minutes, and be sure to change into the gym uniforms given to you by my former teammate, Raison."

As if on cue, Edward walks in the room and says "Thanks Kyosuke, I'll take it from here while you head over there."

He nodded and quickly left the room, leaving his former teammate to face the students with a beaming expression.

"Alright students, the headmaster decided to make these uniforms, which are entirely exclusive to your combat classes." The brown-haired man said, pulling out one of the uniforms for the students to see.

The uniform itself was a simple light gray t-shirt with golden linings and the Beacon academy logo in the front, and dark blue jogging pants with white lines on the sides and the same logo on the right pant leg.

"Well, Hayashi isn't gonna wait for so long." He encouraged, prompting the students to wear the uniform as each stepped forward.

* * *

 **Amphitheater**

Kyosuke was looking at his scroll, until the students arrived as they wore the uniforms.

The difference in their uniforms was that the boys wore pants, while the girls wore shorts.

"Alright, let's get started." He pocketed his scroll, and took a seat as all of the students went on stage.

"What are the point of these uniforms, sir?" Weiss asked, tapping her foot and crossing her arms.

"The headmaster thought that this school needed more uniforms." The teacher responded wryly, before looking at scroll again "First off, Kiyoshi Nakamura."

All the other students, except Kiyoshi himself, went off the stage as the boy's aura began to glow.

"Show me you can utilize your creation semblance, Nakamura." His expression was unreadable as he said that.

"Yes sir." He bowed respectfully, his aura glowing brighter.

His semblance then creates an array of bladed weapons floating in the air as they surrounded the boy, all of which glowed silvery gray, much to the awe of the students watching, especially Ruby.

 _"Is there even a limit to what his semblance can do?"_ The girl questioned in her mind.

The weapons all circled around their creator as multiple targets were created at the very back, before he raised his hand as the bladed weapons were shot at each target with great precision and accuracy.

 _"Interesting, then that means there is more to his aura than simply having a semblance and shield."_ Hayashi mused thoughtfully, cupping his chin.

"I can use my aura for attacks, which is why the weapons floated around me." Nakamura explained, before subtly turning his attention to his partner and said "After all, using my aura for attacking isn't all about forming them into weapons and projectile-based attacks." he had a faint smile as he looked at her, causing the crimsonette to blush in response.

"I've seen enough, next." The teacher said, as the boy walked off the stage, while reading the contents of his scroll.

"I'll tell you all about it after classes." The white-haired boy said, taking a seat next to the silver-eyed girl.

She turned to him with the same blush and said "I-I'd love to."

"Ezra Williams, please come up the stage." The Schnee butler stood up and walked up the stage.

As the black-haired boy faced his classmates, his light indigo aura glowed with electricity as it came from his hands, before using it to connect multiple objects with impressive range, using his mind.

"Electrokinesis." He muttered under his breath, scrutinizing the boy on stage.

"Will this be enough, sir?" Ezra questioned, looking at his teacher.

"Of course, Rika, you're next, since Marty had already shown his semblance to me, due to him getting held back for his bad grades." The violet-haired girl stood up and made her way to the stage.

"Your semblance is sense enhancement?"

"I can hear Kearney-senpai teasing Amano-senpai in the halls." She smiled sweetly, already demonstrating her heightened senses.

"Next, Lily Scarlatina." Lily gulped and went up to her teacher, instead of the stage, much to his confusion.

"I-I hope this example will be good enough." She closed her eyes and placed her hands on Kyosuke's head, as he seemed to widen his eyes in response, before regaining his composure.

 _"She just gave me instant knowledge of her own aura and semblance."_ The young adult said in his head, watching the brown-haired girl timidly return to her seat in silence _"The latter must be her aura, since it can allow her to implant her own knowledge onto someone else."_

"Victor Stark, next." In an instant, the hidden girl was on stage, waving at him in a friendly manner.

 _"Enhanced super speed."_ He said on his head, before saying out loud "Next, Shun Fujimori."

Valerie returned to her seat, which was right next to a grinning Ajax.

In response, Shun smirked as his eyes glowed, to which his body became limp and Cardin standing up with the same smirk and punching himself in the face, before the boy regains control of his body and said "I'm sure that's self-explanatory, sir."

 _"Mister Fujimori's possession semblance."_ He turned his attention to the next student "Next student, Blake Belladonna."

The raven-haired girl responded by dashing towards the stage, leaving behind a shadow clone behind in her seat as the real one went on the stage.

 _"Her shadow semblance may prove to be somewhat useful to her team."_ Hayashi mused to himself, before calling the next student "Next, Dove Bronzewing."

As soon as the boy stood up, Russel accidentally steps on his foot, causing him to let out an aura produced scream that nearly breaks every form of glass in sight, to which the aura is colored light maroon.

"Moving on." The brown-haired man deadpanned, immediately guessing his semblance "Nora Valkyrie is up next."

"Coming!" She chirping, skipping towards the stage before flashing a grin at Ezra and Kiyoshi "I need your semblance, and some stone bricks."

In response, the butler shook his head and used his semblance and shot electricity at Nora, while the creator uses his semblance to create ten sets of stone bricks.

"Thanks!" The ginger-haired thanked, smiling brightly as she felt her strength enhanced by the electricity that surrounded her, before proceeding to effortlessly smash all of the stone bricks surrounding her, much to the awe of the students watching, except Kiyoshi, Yukino, Ruby, Cayden and Riley.

"Ruby Rose, you're next." The alumni turned to the crimsonette "Thank you, Miss Valkyrie."

The hammer wielder smiled one more time and walked off the stage, while the silver-eyed girl walked onto the stage.

"Would you mind showing off both of your semblances?" Kyosuke asked stoically, scrutinizing the student on stage.

She wordlessly responded by converting her aura into dual swords and creates the 'Saber' aura stand from behind her.

 _"Interesting."_ He cupped his chin in thought, before saying "Okay, you can stop now, I've seen enough."

After a few more seconds, both aura creations disappear, and the girl immediately falls to the floor in exhaustion.

"I got it." Kiyoshi stood up from his seat, made his way to the stage, and immediately carried his partner bridal style, much to her embarrassment.

"Are you going to take her to the infirmary, Mister Nakamura?" The teacher asked the white-haired boy, to which he nodded in response as he proceeded to carry her out of the amphitheater and to the infirmary as they left.

"What do you think they're gonna do alone." Shun whispered to his partner with an impish grin.

Miyazaki merely rolled her eyes in response.

"Cayden Walsh, you're next." The silver-haired faunus stood up and walked on stage.

"My semblance is rather simple compared to the others." He swept away his bangs to reveal his crimson right eye to all of the students watching.

"What is that?" Weiss muttered quietly, before widening her eyes as she sees her own body is glowing with aura.

She wasn't the only one with her aura shown, as everyone else in the room had their auras in displays, with all of them having various colors in each of them.

Hayashi is the only one that figures out the boy's semblance as a thought came to his mind _"His semblance allows him to read others' semblances and aura."_

"Thank you, Mister Walsh." He closed his eyes, to which the tanned boy nodded and went off the stage "Ajax Silver."

As if in response to his words, all of the students began to float except for one as Ajax grinned nervously upon his own demonstration of his semblance.

"Sorry about this teach." The black-haired faunus apologized, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

The man shook his head in amusement, before saying "There's nothing to apologize for, Mister Silver."

Upon hearing his head, the boy slowly deactivated his semblance, but made sure that his classmates were safely put on the floor.

"Moving on." The young adult looked his scroll again, before calling the next student "Sky Lark."

In response, the gray-haired boy went onto the stage as his aura glowed, to which it's silver colored.

"Mister Lark, would I be lying if I said that Cardin loves faunus." He said, much to the student's confusion.

"Uh dude, do you love faunus?" Sky questioned his leader, tilting his head slightly.

Before the boy would respond, the small glare from his teacher made him grit his teeth as he begrudgingly answered "Yes."

"You're lying, you hate the faunus." The boy said immediately, seeing through his leader's small lie.

"You can go off stage, Mister Lark." Kyosuke said, getting the boy to nod as he walked off the stage "Riley White, please."

The androgynous boy responded by wordlessly creating a portal in front of him and then walks through it, as he was immediately on the stage.

"Impressive semblance, next." He said, with Riley going through the portal again before calling "Cardin Winchester!"

"I don't wanna." Cardin muttered under his breath, something that was only heard by his homeroom teacher.

 _"He really does hates his own semblance, huh?"_ The man thought, before calling out another student "Pyrrha Nikos."

"Sir, I would like to pass on revealing my own semblance to my classmates as well." The redhead champion said politely, raising her hand.

 _"Understandable, given her struggle with her fame and reputation."_ He decided to call the next student "Kiara Belladonna, please go up the stage."

Kiara went up the stage, with her aura flaring slightly, right before her eyes turn crimson red and her pupils turn into slits, much to the awe of most of the students.

However, Hayashi sensed bloodlust oozing from the cat faunus' aura, to which he spoke "Okay Miss Belladonna, you can go back to your seat now."

"Yukino Miyazaki." The ice user stood up as soon as she was called, and immediately froze Cardin, before sitting down without a word, much to the shock of his team and most of the other students.

"Okay then, Magnar Pederson." The bull faunus immediately went on stage and presented his semblance of body hardening as his skin turned into stone in front of most of his classmates, as Kiyoshi was taking Ruby to the infirmary, due to the latter being unable to move.

"Am I finished now, Professor Hayashi sir?" Magnar asked, his body returning to normal.

"Yes." He nodded, calling the next student "Weiss Schnee."

The heiress stood up and went up the stage, before presenting her glyphs as they were all beautifully scattered all around the amphitheater itself.

"Is this enough, sir?" Weiss asked, looking at her classmates' reactions.

"Yes, moving on." Kyosuke proceeded to call the next one "Ryoma Yukimura."

As if in response, the ice that encased Cardin was immediately shattered by very strong winds as the boy was sent flying towards the wall, effectively knocking him out.

"That enough teach?" Ryoma asked, smirking at what he did.

"I believe so, Mister Yukimura." The teacher smirked back, before calling "Jaune Arc."

"Uh, I-I don't have a semblance yet sir." The blonde said sadly, with his partner patting his back to comfort him.

 _"Understandable, since his aura was unlocked during the beginning of initiation."_ He decided to give him the benefit of the doubt by calling the next student "Lie Ren."

The black-haired boy stood up and went on the stage, with his best friend cheering him on.

"Yeah, break their legs!" Nora cheered, causing Jaune and Ajax to back away slightly in fear.

Ren sighed as he activated his semblance with his aura being light magenta in color, his body proceeded to lose it's colors as he seemingly disappeared from his classmates' eyes, except his teacher.

 _"He's nullifying his own emotions to conceal both his presence and aura."_ Hayashi deduced in his mind, before saying "I've seen enough, Shizuka Aoki is next."

"I-I'm sorry sir, but it's difficult to describe my semblance." Shizuka said timidly, looking down on the floor "S-So I can't show it in front of everyone."

"Very well then." He nodded in understanding, before proceeding to call the last student "Last one, Russel Thrush."

The mohawk boy stood up and made his way to the stage, only to trip halfway on the stairs as he fell.

"I got it!" Nora pulled out her hammer from her back for some reason, and threw it at the boy, much to everyone's shock, with some keeping it to themselves.

However, he did not look injured in the slightest as he stood up and said "Looks like my semblance already activated teach."

 _"So his semblance involves absorbing his injuries then."_ He mused thoughtfully, before saying "Thank you, Mister Thrush." the man stood up and looked at the students "Class dismissed, students." Kyosuke proceeded to go out of the room itself, while giving a sideways glance as he said "You can change back into your school uniforms, and Grimm Studies will be the next student taught by Professor Port."

With that, the alumni left the room without saying a word, leaving the students to think for themselves.

"So that's our homeroom teacher?" Ajax raised an eyebrow, confused by the man's demeanor.

"Let's just get to class." Yukino said curtly, before turning to Shun "But first, you and I will get Ruby and Kiyoshi from the infirmary."

"I don't see why not?" The boy shrugged, following his partner.

This was only the beginning of their first day of classes as many things await the new batch of students.

 **To be continued ...**

 **I apologize if this chapter is somewhat weak compared to the other short ones, but this was the only idea I had on how Kyosuke would first interact with his students. The next chapter will focus on how the first-year students will adjust to Beacon Academy as many surprises await them.**

 **On a minor note: I wish you all an advanced Happy New Year!**

 **A/N (10-01-19): Team CRDL's semblances are made by RainStorm4 and are in their story "Redemption", please check it out because it's a good story to read, since Team CRDL are given actual character development, especially Cardin.**

 **Next Chapter: Adjusting to Beacon**


	21. C13: Adjusting to Beacon

_**Hello my readers! This chapter will focus on how the first-year students will adjust to Beacon and the surprises that await them. This chapter will have some development between some characters and is kinda long.**_

 _ **NOTE: Some parts of the chapter will have some rather perverted scenes and some minor fanservice.**_

 _ **Happy reading~!**_

 **Infirmary**

"Are your legs feeling fine, Miss Rose?" Yuna asked, looking at the crimsonette as she sat on one of the beds.

"I am mostly fine Miss Himura." Ruby nodded slightly "But my legs and feet are usually the ones affected the most by the amount of aura drained from my body."

"Then you should get some more rest." The red-haired woman said, looking over to the silver-eyed girl's partner "Since I have a class with the second-year students, I shall leave both of you here for the time being."

Kiyoshi nodded at the woman as she left the infirmary, before turning to his partner as she rubbed at her own legs in an attempt to soothe them.

"Are you okay?" He was mostly silent when both of them arrived at the infirmary, but now decided to speak up as soon as he was alone with the girl.

"Like I said, I am mostly fine." She responded, closing her eyes "Though my legs and feet are still sore from my aura getting drained by my second semblance."

"Do you need a massage then?" The boy questioned, unaware that it caused the girl blush wildly as she snapped her eyes open.

"H-Huh?" Was her response as she failed to come up with words at the moment.

"I will apply aura into my hands, as well as some lotion, to ensure that they will be as comfortable as possible." He went for the nearest medical cabinet and grabbed a bottle of lotion, while applying aura into his hands for emphasis.

 _"C-Calm down Ruby, he's just helping you so why are you acting like this?"_ Numerous thoughts ran through the crimsonette's head _"I-I think I'll take off my shorts and shoes, so it will be easier for him to massage my legs and feet."_

As those thoughts crossed her mind, Ruby proceeded to take off her gym shorts and her shoes and socks, leaving only her black lacy undergarment with a small ribbon in front as she prepared herself while moving her legs onto the bed itself.

"I see that you have prepared yourself." Her partner said as he came into sight.

She could only nod meekly in response, not saying a word.

"This kind of use from my aura is relatively new to me." Nakamura said, getting onto the bed his partner was in and grabbed both of her legs, before placing her feet onto his lap for some elevation "I am also new to massaging, so I will try to make you feel as comfortable as I can."

With those words said, he started to gently rub on her right foot, causing the girl to clench her teeth as she gripped the bed sheets as tightly as she could. She has never had anyone touch her feet before, so having a boy that she had only known for a few days touch her so sensually and personally made her tingle in anticipation and nervousness.

The silver-eyed girl then gasped when her partner pulled her toes lightly.

"Is there something wrong?" The boy asked, looking into his partner's eyes.

"N-Nothing!" She stuttered, her blush growing bigger "I-I was just surprised that it felt good, please ... keep going."

He nodded at her, before continuing his gentle assault on the her foot. Even though she couldn't stop blushing, she eventually got used to the feeling and when her initial nervousness of the situation left, the pleasure entered.

Ruby had never felt so good before. She could hardly believe that her partner was new to massaging as he was doing it like an expert. All of the soreness she had on her foot from draining her own aura slowly went away. However, she still felt a great amount of soreness from her legs. The girl could feel all of her rational thoughts going down the drain when she thought of the pleasure that could come with the boy giving her a leg massage.

"K-K-Kiyoshi~?"

The said boy was slightly perplexed upon hearing her call him. When his partner addressed him, her voice sounded weirdly ... seductive. He was honestly confused at the moment. The once embarrassed and shy girl was now looking at him with a primal desire in her eyes. She bit her thumb and felt some sweat going down her forehead.

"What do you need, Ruby?"

"Would you mind massaging my leg now, please~?" His partner asked, somewhat seductively "My foot is feeling better now, but my leg still hurts, so can you please massage it~?"

Kiyoshi knew that she would ask him for a leg message eventually, since he could feel his aura slowly eating away at the soreness from the crimsonette, as well as the lotion helping her feel even more comfort.

"Here I go." He nodded at the girl, before applying some lotion into his hand.

Afterwards, they made contact with her right leg, to which Ruby moaned out loud in response, causing her partner to look at her with slight surprise. The girl was also surprised herself, as well as freezing upon realizing the sound she made.

While he wouldn't say it out loud, the white-haired boy thought the sound he heard was fascinating to hear.

Unbeknownst to him, the girl had similar thoughts but for different reasons.

 _"I-I have never made that kind of sound before."_ She thought, before the pleasure took over _"Y-Yet, I want to make that sound again."_

"P-Please continue, Kiyoshi ..." Her voice trailed off, with her beginning to breathe in and out slowly.

"As you wish, Ruby." The boy nodded, before focusing on massaging her legs.

Her legs were extremely smooth as they had absolutely no hair in sight, and they were fit with no amount of fat in the slightest. The boy was beginning to see that his partner was quite beautiful, especially her face, despite her usual expressions.

As he gently rubbed her leg, she couldn't help but moan out loud even more. Fortunately, it was just the two of them alone in the infirmary.

The massage itself lasted for five whole minutes, with the girl's moans growing even louder and her breathing increasing in speed.

"That felt nice ... and comfortable." She panted, feeling her leg's soreness going away from her partner's touch "Thank you."

"Your welcome, Ruby." Nakamura grabbed her left foot and placed it onto his lap for elevation "I will now switch to your left foot and massage it first, before your leg."

 _"I-I just hope that the sounds I make don't grow-"_ Her thoughts were cut off, as she lets out another moan.

Her newfound pleasure wasn't going to stop there, as her moaning grew louder from outside of the infirmary.

* * *

 **Hallways**

"At least we grabbed their uniforms from the classroom before going to the infirmary, right?" Shun smiled, carrying a bag with the uniforms that belonged to his two remaining teammates.

"Indeed we did." Miyazaki nodded, with her eyes now seeing the infirmary's door.

 _"I bet those two are doing kinky shit in the nurse's office."_ Shin chuckled perversely inside the boy's mind, causing the said boy to blush profusely in response.

 _"D-Don't say things like that!?"_ The brown-haired boy shook his head, fighting off his blush _"S-Sure I teased them about what they'd do in the infirmary, but not things like that!"_

 _"Sure, keep telling yourself that, bro."_ He could feel that his split personality was rolling his eyes and smirking _"I bet you wanna fuck that hot wolf-"_

"We're here!" The boy shouted, standing near the infirmary's door.

"We already are." The white-haired girl said flatly, crossing her arms.

"O-Oh right!" Fujimori chuckled sheepishly, pulling out his scroll to open the door "I'll open this-"

He was cut off by a loud moan coming from the other side of the door, causing him to blush even more.

 _"Damn, those two only knew each other for a day, and now they're fucking like crazy!"_ The split personality cackled from the inside of the boy's mind _"Hey, why don't we and our hot partner join them-"_

"We're not doing that!" The boy shouted again, to which he covered his mouth in embarrassment afterwards.

The wolf faunus was unfazed by the moans she was hearing, as she spoke "Are you just going to stand there blushing?"

"N-No!" Her partner stuttered, ignoring Shin's cackling.

After some hesitation, the boy slowly opened the infirmary's door and braced himself for what he's about to witness from his two teammates.

However, he and his partner end up seeing Kiyoshi giving Ruby a leg massage, much to the latter's pleasure.

"K-Kiyoshi, please go faster~!" The crimsonette shouted, letting out another moan.

"Ruby?" Yukino said, raising an eyebrow.

That got the girl's attention as she turned to see her, to which her face became red like her coat.

"What ... are you two-" Shun hesitantly said, only for the other boy to cut him off.

"I was simply giving Ruby a foot and leg massage to soothe her soreness." The white-haired boy explained, not bothered by the looks he was given as he went off the bed and stood up straight.

His partner could only nod meekly in agreement, before covering her exposed undergarment.

"We brought your uniforms." The possession semblance user stepped forward to give the other boy the bag.

"Thank you." He then turned to his partner and said "I suggest that you change into your uniform here, while I change somewhere else with the others waiting outside."

"O-Okay." Ruby said quietly, embarrassed at herself for letting her own pleasure take over.

 _"Damn it, why don't we get to see-"_ Shin's complaints were promptly ignored by the boy as he and his partner began waiting outside, while Nakamura was going to a different place to change his uniform.

* * *

 **Infirmary**

"Why did I let myself get carried away?" Ruby asked herself quietly, staring at the ceiling as she lay on the bed.

She was already in her crimson red lacy underwear as she had to gather her own thoughts first, before wearing her school uniform again.

 _"Why did my heart beat faster when Kiyoshi said those nice things to me earlier?"_ The crimsonette placed a hand on her chest and felt her own heart beating faster upon thinking of her own partner _"I've only known him for a few days, but I feel like ... I knew him for my entire life."_

A blush then sprouted on her face _"Well, he is really cute, with his white hair and ... those eyes."_ her blush grew upon thinking about the boy's mesmerizing yellow eyes.

She sighed and thought _"These feelings will be the death of me."_ , before getting up as she began wearing her dress shirt.

The girl then proceeds to wear the skirt, waistcoat, necktie, her shoes and stockings, and finally her coat.

 _"Though, it did feel nice shed my outlook on others."_ The silver-eyed girl mused thoughtfully, absentmindedly touching her legs as her blush grew even bigger _"The massage was nice too, but I still can't believe I let myself get carried away."_

With one more sigh, she went out of the infirmary, where her other two teammates are waiting.

* * *

 **Hallways**

"How are you feeling, Ruby?" Miyazaki asked, seeing the other girl exit the infirmary.

"I'm feeling fine for the most part," Ruby answered, sighing as she tried to hide her own blushing face "Where's Kiyoshi?"

As if in response to her words, Kiyoshi came up to them and said "I'm here."

He was wearing the male school uniform again, with the changes he made to it still remaining.

"Great, looks like the gang's finally complete!" Shun said, smiling brightly.

"Let's just head to Grimm Studies." The white-haired girl crossed her arms, making her way to the next class "I have a feeling that our next teacher would be completely different."

"Please, how different could he be?" Her partner scoffed, following the girl to where she was going.

The crimsonette looked at her partner once more, before blushing as all four of them made their way to the next class.

* * *

 **Lecture Hall**

"Monsters! Deeeemons... Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey! Ha-ha!" An elderly man laughed, in an attempt to make his class laugh, but was met with silence.

The lecture hall itself resembled a classroom seen in universities, with the walls containing antique drawings of different types of Grimm.

But before he would continue his lecture, the doors burst open, much to the surprise of both the teacher and the students.

"Sorry we're late!" A voice drew his attention, with the man staring at Shun, Miyazaki, Kiyoshi and Ruby arriving five minutes late for his class.

"Hello students!" He greeted jovially, walking up to the four students "I shall give you four a pass, since this is your first day."

The crimsonette stepped forward and bowed politely "Thank you, sir."

"Such a polite young woman you are!" The elderly man laughed in good nature, before introducing himself "My name is Peter Port, but refer to me as Professor Port!"

Port was a man in an early old age as he has gray hair with both sides neatly combed, unseen dark brown eyes as they are closed and has a slightly pale complexion. He appeared to have a slightly overweight physique.

He was wearing a double-breasted burgundy suit with gold piping and buttons, brown pants and olive cavalry boots, with the pants' legs tucked in each boot.

"Now then, all four of you may choose a spot in this here lecture hall!" Port pointed at the rest of the class.

The four students nodded as all of them chose an empty where they sat all together.

"Hey, at least all of us are getting even closer as a team, eh?" The brown-haired boy grinned, nudging his partner lightly.

"I do appreciate that three of you have no problems about my faunus heritage." She admitted, looking over to the silver-eyed girl before her lips tugged slightly upwards "Admittedly, I am interested in getting to know all of you three."

"One more thing though?" The boy abruptly shifted into Shin, getting the girl's attention.

"Proceed." The white-haired faunus gave him a side glance "What do you have to say then?"

"You ain't gonna be mad if I did this." The split personality reached out to Yukino's chest and gave one of her breasts a squeeze, much to her hidden displeasure.

 _"Shin, what are you doing!?"_ Shun shouted in his own mind, but was ignored.

In response, the girl promptly ignored him as the boy proceeded to grope her again, with every squeeze getting harder.

Meanwhile, Port spoke again to lecture his students "Upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Now, as I was saying: Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world! Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces! And that's where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses..." He gave Rika a wink, much to her confusion "Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves! From what, you ask? Why, the very world!"

"Yeah!" Ajax pumped his fist and rose from his seat.

However, the others didn't share the same enthusiasm as him, to which he immediately sat down and grinned sheepishly, earning a nudge from Valerie, who smirked at him.

"That is what you are training to become. But first: A story. A tale of a young, handsome man... Me! When I was a boy..." The portly man began to tell his 'tale'.

But to the majority of the students, his words faded into the background and became a series of "blah"s, especially to Nora, Ajax, Shin (whom is currently taking over Shun's body and mind), Marty and Rika, with the exceptions being Ruby, Yukino, Riley, Cayden, Valerie and Kiyoshi, all of whom are trying to grasp the teacher's story.

 _"I wonder if Alex's ever going to attend classes?"_ The spiky-haired boy questioned in his mind.

"...Despite smelling of cabbages, my grandfather was a wise man. 'Peter', he told me..."

The speech evolves into more "blah"s as Rika chuckles at her creation and shows it to Marty, which was a ball-with-limbs-and-a-head drawing of the teacher with stink lines coming from him and "Professor Poop" written underneath, much to the boy's amusement.

Weiss took notice of what they're doing and scoffs at their immaturity, despite not being able to grasp the portly teacher's story herself.

"Ah-heh-hem!" He coughs into his hand and waits until he has their attention again, before saying "In the end, the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity, and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero!" he then takes a bow at his students, but that didn't help their confusion.

 _"Is this even a class?"_ All of the students thought at once.

"The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable!"

Kiyoshi and Yukino scoffed at that trait, as their old memories briefly resurfaced in their minds.

"A true Huntsman must be dependable!"

Lily and Shizuka shuffled uncomfortably in their spots, especially the latter as she was given the position of team leader.

"A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise!"

Magnar scratched the back of his head and looked away, while Ajax said nothing as he closed his eyes shut.

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

No one bothered to speak up, nor raise their hands.

"Well, if that's the case!" Port decided to tell another 'tale' "I shall recall another tale of a handsome young man!"

The class went on with the majority of the students falling asleep, due to another long tale by their jovial professor.

 _*THIRTY MINUTES LATER*_

"Class is dismissed!" The portly man announced happily, much to the students' relief.

"That man was rather-" Miyazaki was cut off with her breast squeezed again, but harder.

Shin was still groping the white-haired girl, with a perverse grin on his face.

In response, she immediately used her semblance to encase most of his body in ice, except his head.

Afterwards, the faunus icily glared at the split personality, causing him to genuinely shudder under her glare, despite showing no fear towards the Grimm he fought back at initiation.

"I suggest that you let Shun back in control. Now." She said coldly, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Y-Yeah! Sure!" With that, the boy's eyes turned back to blue as he adopted a fearful expression.

He struggled to form words for a moment, before finding his voice "P-Please forgive him!"

"Very well then." The girl's expression softened, but her voice was still firm "But repeat the same action and I will freeze his entire body, though I will apologize to you in advance before doing so."

Shun seemed to accept the threat, ignoring his split personality's indignant shouting and complaining inside his head.

* * *

 **Chemistry Lab**

"Before we start this class," A woman with black hair introduced herself "My name is Kiyomi Mizuhara, and I will be taking over for Professor Peach, since I have not seen her since yesterday."

Kiyomi was wearing the outfit she wore yesterday, but without her coat, gloves and belt.

 _"Honestly, I expect that woman to at least leave behind a message before leaving to who-knows-what."_ The woman thought, sighing in exasperation as her old teacher left her to teach the new batch of hunters-in-training by herself.

 _"Another Beacon graduate as a staff member."_ Kiyoshi thought, looking at Ruby, who looked at him as well.

"I will be teaching Dust Chemistry as it was my highest subject from my time as a student here." She explained, pulling out a dust crystal from her sachet.

The chemistry lab itself was a fairly large room as the walls contained multiple drawings and sketches of different types of dust, chemicals, and compounds. There were five horizontal work stations, that are organized in a column, and there were eight seats in each column, making it forty in total, to which twenty six of them are occupied by the students in different areas. There were also cabinets and other stations set close to the walls, all of which are filled with materials and substances required for the subject itself, which were enough for an entire class.

"First off, dust is known as a naturally occurring, crystallized energy propellant triggered by the aura of humans and faunus." Kiyomi started, placing the crystal on her desk, before continuing "For unknown reasons, dust does not function outside of the atmosphere of Remnant, precluding the possibility of space flight."

"Dust can be included in an earlier set of practices that encompassed elements of chemistry, metallurgy, philosophy, astrology, astronomy, mysticism and medicine." The woman looked at each student as she kept talking "With chemistry as a part of the subject, traditional chemistry starts with the study of elementary particles, atoms, molecules, substances, metals, crystals and other aggregates of matter." she began organizing different sets of chemicals and empty glasses "This matter can be studied in solid, liquid, or gas states, in isolation or in combination." she pulled out more dust crystals from her sachet and placed them near the organized materials "With that, I will show you all how dust can be integrated into chemistry itself."

 _"Like our homeroom teacher, it looks like we have another serious and competent teacher."_ Weiss mused thoughtfully, observing the young woman's actions _"Though Professor Hayashi only observed almost all of our semblances."_

"Observe." The black-haired woman grabbed a mortar and grinder, and began grounding one of the dust crystals into powdered dust, before carefully pouring them into an empty glass. She then picks up a test tube filled with aura-infused chemicals, and then pours them into the powder-filled glass.

A few minutes later, the glass began to glow green as the dust chemist wore safety gloves and carefully picks up the new substance as it was now solid and in the form of a cylinder crystal.

Mizuhara then carefully broke the crystal into five small pieces as she picks up a single one and shows it to one of her students "Miss Scarlatina, perhaps a small demonstration shall be required."

In response, Lily hesitantly stood from her seat and ignored the discreet sneering from Cardin as she made her way to the front.

"I have heard of what you have done with dust before," The dust user spoke gently, handing her the small piece "It is easy to break, so do not hesitate in doing so."

With some little confidence gathered, the rabbit faunus breaks the small crystal in her hand, causing her hand itself to glow, much to her distress.

"W-What's happen-" She cut herself off by seeing her teacher smile in encouragement as she began to speak.

"Raise your hand and use your mind to concentrate." The raven-haired woman said encouragingly "Afterwards, the result will show itself."

Nodding in response, the petite girl raised her glowing hand in the air and concentrated greatly, which eventually lead to her creating a large triangular glyph in the ceiling, much to the awe of most of the students.

There were some that were occupied with something else, other than seeing the glyph on the ceiling, and Ruby was one of the students as she was busy reading a textbook on dust.

 _"Dust can be activated by both aura and external stimuli, which is how it can be used for, what basically amounts to, casting and also for bullets and other technology."_ She soaked the information in her thoughts, as the teacher in front began speaking once more.

"I shall ask all of you one by one, to repeat the same action that Miss Scarlatina has done." Kiyomi said with her hands on her hips, looking at the students "Now, shall I ask for a volunteer?"

Hands were raised as the class continued on without a hitch.

* * *

 **Dining Hall**

Parts of the Academy includes a large formal dining room running down the length of a cloister-like hall. The dining room features four long tables running the length of the hall with benches to either side and walking areas located in between. Students were able to sit not only with their teams, but other groups.

Like all the other parts of the academy buildings, the dining hall is somewhat gothic in appearance. The walls are marked with the academy's crossed-ax logo.

"The food here isn't the same like back home." Ajax sighed as he took a seat, lunch tray in his hands.

Team SAVR and Team JNPR were sitting in the same table, due to most of the members from the latter team being curious about the former, to which Pyrrha decided to speak up.

"So ... Ajax, correct?"

"Yup, that's me." The boy responded with a small smile "What do you need?"

"I am quite curious of your semblance, especially since it seemed quite powerful when you used it on us." The redhead said, looking over to both her own team and the other curiously.

"Well, that's a bit of a long story there." He chuckled, scratching the back of his head "But I'm sure 'Victor' can explain how I got it for me."

Valerie looked at the Mistralian and said "After I was partnered up with him from initiation, he decided to tell me his reason for enrolling at Beacon." She looked over to him, to which he nodded in consent "Ajax comes from a rather ... normal background, as he and his family were living on a tight budget, which eventually lead to him training to be a huntsmen in hopes of providing his family with all the Lien they need."

Ren and Shizuka were fascinated by his backstory, especially the latter as parts of her past came to her mind.

"But that doesn't explain how you managed to gain your semblance." Pyrrha looked over to him curiously.

The black-haired wolf faunus laughed nervously as he spoke up "Like I said, it's a long story, but ..." he trailed off as all the attention were focused on him, except for Nora as she was busy happily eating pancakes, before continuing "I'm just gonna say this once that, I had a very strict teacher that always yelled at me, which caused me to pull him down on the ground without touching him, probably because of my own growing fear. Hehehe." he ended his sentence by chuckling sheepishly upon remembering how he gained his own semblance.

"So you unlocked your semblance out of fear then?" Riley asked, raising an eyebrow. He had been very quiet, up until how his other male teammate vaguely revealed how he gained his gravity semblance.

"You make sound like it like it's a bad thing." Ajax pouted slightly at the girl-looking boy.

"Where's Jaune?" Aoki asked, noticing that the blonde knight wasn't here.

"He said that he was going to the art room, along with Weiss for some reason." The redhead added the last part quietly.

"I have heard that they were following two third-year students named Kaede Enomoto and Kuniaki Kumagawa." The gray-haired boy said, before taking a bite from a bran muffin.

"Really?" Nora spoke up, still chewing on a pancake as she looked up to him, to which he nodded in confirmation.

 _*MEANWHILE*_

"You ... make your own snacks?" Shun asked, looking at Ruby as she was eating from a cookie box.

"Of course, but I already had these prepared while I was packing my things for Beacon." The crimsonette explained, taking a bite from one of her own cookies, which were pink as it had white chocolate chips.

"Well, you wouldn't mind if we shared, right?" The brown-haired boy asked with a hopeful smile.

"No." His hope was quickly shattered by her quick answer, with him slamming his own face on the table.

Miyazaki shook her head at her partner's actions, before looking over to Kiyoshi, as he was seemingly focused on taking apart a scroll and then reassembling it.

But before she would say anything, Ryoma shows up out of nowhere as he said "Hey guys!"

He wasn't alone as the rest of Team KLRE were taking their seats, as they were about to eat in the same table as Team MRKS.

"How are all of you doing today?" Ezra asked, smiling as he looked over each member of the other team.

"Never better." Fujimori muttered, his face still on the table, earning a raised eyebrow from Kiara.

Ruby saw this and rolled her eyes, before saying "If it makes you feel better, then I'll-"

"How are ya'll enjoying the food?" A new voice cuts her off, to which both teams' attentions were now on a new person.

"It's delicious as usual, Miss Davis." The white-haired boy said respectfully, still focusing on the scroll.

"Do you know her?" His partner asked, looking at the woman smiling sweetly at them.

The woman looked at the girl and then the boy, before gushing slightly "Aww! Kiyo, you finally got yourself a special someone."

"S-Special someone!?" Just like that, Ruby's stoic mask immediately broke upon hearing those words, as she spluttered and flushed with an embarrassed expression.

"Uh, who are you?" The possession semblance user lifted his head up slightly.

"Oh! Silly me!" The woman laughed at herself, before her introduction "My name is Goldie Davis, and I'm the one that serves yer food."

Goldie was a woman in an early old age as she has golden blonde hair that has some gray streaks, vibrant blue eyes and a fair complexion. She has a slightly plump physique, but is not overweight.

She was wearing a dark yellow dress that reached her knees, a large white apron, and light brown flats. The elderly woman was also wearing a black hairnet over her hair and light blue rubber gloves that reached her elbows.

"Well then, Miss Davis." The Schnee butler said, smiling politely "I must say that the food here is quite delightful."

"Oh thank you, young man." Goldie rubbed at the boy's head "And all of you can call me Goldie, unlike Kiyo here."

"Um, are you the one that made those chocolate chip muffins?" The crimsonette asked, rubbing her arm nervously.

"Yes I did, young lady." The elderly blonde said, before eyeing Nakamura "Did you give her some, Kiyo?"

"Of course, Miss Davis." He responded, pausing from what he was doing "She came by the old weapons forge earlier, and I offered her some when she seemed tired."

That was enough for the woman as she turned to Team KRLE and half of Team MRKS, and said "I hope all of you treat Kiyo here with great respect and get along with him, he's closest person I have to an actual son and he's been through very tough times in his childhood before comin' here."

In response, they all nodded in response, while the white-haired boy merely remained silent as he went back to his work, with his cheeks dusted with pink.

"One last thing, he may seem like the cold and distant type of person at first glance, but I assure you that he's very kind and helpful underneath that blank face of his." She poked the boy's right cheek, much to his hidden embarrassment "I hope you treat your lady friend well, Kiyo." with that, the elderly woman returned to where she was working while waving goodbye at the students.

"On second thought, you can take half of my cookies, Shun." The silver-eyed girl gave the boy half of her homemade cookies before following after Goldie.

"Alright!" Shun immediately dug into the cookies, therefore satisfying his already angry stomach.

Yukino saw that he was leaving a bunch of crumbs as he ate, to which she says "Once you finish eating those, you clean up your own mess."

"I agree with Miss Miyazaki," Ezra agreed, nodding "And please have some manners when you're eating on the table, Mister Fujimori."

"I'll be right back." Lily said timidly, walking off from the table.

The brown-haired boy looked up from his eating and said "Was she here the entire time?"

"Nah, I wouldn't worry about her." Ryoma waved dismissively, taking a bite from his sandwich "She's just too damn shy to speak up."

 _"That's something I plan on helping her with."_ Kiara thought, looking at the rabbit faunus as she walked away.

Unfortunately, as the petite girl was walking to somewhere else, her rabbit ears are violently tugged on, causing her to cry out in pain as she was forcefully pulled backwards.

"Where do you think you're going, freak!" It was Cardin's sneering voice, as his victim turned around in fear, while trembling.

"C-Can you please let-" She tried to muster a sentence, but was cut off by her ears pulled violently again.

"Shut up when I'm talking to you, freak!" The boy then noticed tears coming out of the girl's eyes, and then proceeded to mock her for it "Aww, what's wrong? Does it hurt when does it when do this?" he tightened his grip on her ears, causing the girl to openly cry quietly.

"P-Please stop." The brown-haired girl tried to move, but her attacker's grip kept her in place.

"Oh I'll let you go, once I hear you cry even more!" He grinned cockily, before violently tugging at her ears again "Hahaha! What a freak!"

However, before the boy would do worse, he felt an aura filled with dread and malice, to which he turned around to see Ruby as she glared at him, yet her face held no form of expression or emotion, causing the boy to shudder as he felt cold and pale.

"Release her this instant. **Trash**." She spoke in an emotionless tone, that sent shivers down the boy's spine as he released Lily on pure instinct.

Before Cardin realized it, the crimsonette immediately kneed him in the genitals, causing him to cry out in pain.

"People like you disgust me to no end." The silver-eyed girl spoke with pure venom in her voice.

The rest of Team CRDL rushed in to help their leader, as they had been surprisingly quiet upon seeing harass the poor rabbit faunus, until the girl came out of nowhere and kneed him in the balls.

Unfortunately for the racist boy, she wasn't finished yet as she proceeded to stomp on his genitals, right before his teammates would come to his aid.

"You caused her pain, so I'll return the favor." She spat venomously, digging her foot even deeper, causing the boy to whimper pitifully, with tears coming out of his eyes.

"I-I ..." He tried to form a sentence, but failed due to his current pain.

"If you so much as show any racism towards Lily, or any other faunus." Ruby narrowed her eyes dangerously "I will show you the true meaning of pain and suffering."

"Y-Yes ma'am!" Cardin squeaked, not able to move from being stomped on.

"Then get out of my sight, worthless scum." She released her foot from his genitals, prompting his teammates to pick him up by his arms.

But before they realized it, the crimsonette delivered a hard side kick to his privates ... again, as he fell down from his teammates' grip as he curled up into a ball as his whimpering became louder.

"Why is it always ... the balls!" The boy whined from the floor, which caused his teammates to wince as the girl walked towards Lily, who was stunned at the display.

"Here you go." The silver-eyed girl used her aura to heal the petite girl's bruised ears.

After a few seconds, both of her rabbit ears are completely healed, with her looking up to the taller girl with slight pink dusted cheeks.

"Thank you." She managed to say, despite the feelings she currently had.

"Let's get back to the table." Both girls began walking back to their table, unaware that the other students were awed upon seeing the display of intimidation.

"Damn." Ryoma had no words, as he was visibly impressed by what he just saw, along with the rest of Team KLRE and Shun.

"Let's hope that he doesn't pull the same stunt twice." Kiyoshi spoke up, unfazed by what he saw "I have a feeling that she is the type to go through with her threats."

"She should've asked me for assistance." Miyazaki shook her head, also unfazed by what she witnessed, much to her partner's horror as he looked at her.

"You're not serious, right?" He asked, only to get a flat look in response, which meant that she was fully serious.

"I have Goldie's chocolate chip muffin recipe, her chocolate rainbow cupcake recipe, and her white chocolate brownie recipe." Ruby said casually, returning to the table as if nothing had ever happened, with Lily blushing upon feeling the warmth of the taller girl's hand.

"Did you have her write them on a notepad?" The white-haired boy asked, taking a bite from his sandwich as he looked at her.

"Yup, right here." She answered, pulling out a yellow notepad from her coat.

"Those two are definitely perfect for each other." Kiara whispered to Yukimura, as they watched the two conversing with one another.

* * *

 **Hallways**

"So, what were your names again?" Jaune asked, following the third-year students.

A girl in her late teens turned to see him as she responded "My name is Kaede Enomoto, and I'm the leader of Team KOMK (Comic)." she smiled "Is that better?"

"Y-Yeah, sure." The blonde nodded, accepting the introduction.

Kaede was older than both of her underclassman by two years, as she is nineteen years of age, she has shoulder-length blonde hair, brown eyes and has a fair complexion. She has a rather average physique, but with some curves on her chest and waist.

She was wearing the female Beacon Academy uniform, but opts to wear a yellow v-neck sweater instead of the blazer and waistcoat. She also wears a light brown beret on top her head and wears black square eyeglasses over her eyes.

"Let's just go on our way to the art room, kohai." A boy said with a wide smile.

"Are you seriously going to call us that, Kumagawa." Weiss crossed her arms, as she looked at the older boy walking ahead of her.

Kuniaki was also older than both underclassman by two years, as he has black messy hair, dark green eyes and has a slightly fair complexion. He was slightly lanky and rather thin, but is fit enough to be a huntsman-in-training.

He was wearing the male Beacon Academy uniform, but wears a dark gray turtleneck over his blazer, instead of the dress shirt and waistcoat.

"Just call me senpai and everything will be fine, Schnee-san." Kumagawa said, his smile never leaving his features.

 _"He's rather eccentric for a third-year student of Beacon."_ The heiress thought, scrutinizing the boy from behind.

"We're here!" The black-haired boy shouted, bursting through the doors of the art room, much to the surprise of both underclassmen.

"He's weird." Jaune muttered under his breath, to which Kaede chuckled upon hearing that.

* * *

 **Dormitory Buildings**

"Alex." Marty knocked on the door of his dorm "Me and Rika just brought some lunch for you to eat."

After a few seconds of pure silence, a tired female voice spoke up "Just leave it by the door, and please leave."

"Alexandra-san." Rika muttered in sadness, looking at the spiky-haired boy.

"Professor Hayashi said that you should attend classes now." He said, hoping that his partner would hear him.

But he only received silence as a response.

"We should go back to the others now, Marty-kun." The purple-haired girl said, frowning sadly.

"Yeah." The boy closed his eyes, and began making his way out of the building with the girl "We'll see you after classes, Alex."

With that, both of them had left the building with some sniffling heard on the other side of the door where they left it, with a tray of food on the floor.

* * *

 **Dining Hall**

"So, what do you think fearless leader is up to?" Nora asked, looking at both her teammates and Team SAVR, as she now finished her pancakes, much to her disappointment.

"We don't know what Jaune is up to, Nora." Ren answered, sighing "Other than going to the art room with Weiss and two upperclassmen."

"I bet the guy must be hungry right now, since he didn't choose to eat lunch with us." Ajax said, standing up as he grabbed two uneaten sandwiches and placed them inside a brown paper bag "I'm gonna go to the art room and give him these sandwiches."

"I shall go with you." Pyrrha stood up as well, wanting to see her partner.

With those words said, both of them made their way out of the dining hall and to the art room as they go, leaving behind the others as one of them decided to speak up.

"Um, how long have you two known each other?" Shizuka asked the two remaining Team JNPR members.

"Yes, I am quite curious of how close both of you are." Riley nodded in agreement, looking at the duo.

"Well," The black-haired boy looked at his partner and said "We've known each other ever since we were children, through certain circumstances." he added the last part in a hesitant manner.

"Yeah!" The ginger-haired girl chirped, grinning in a somewhat nervous manner "We've been friends for soooooooo long! What are the odds we'd still be together?" she looked at her best friend and then blushed "Well, not "together-together..." Not that I'm not saying that you're not handsome; you are handsome, but that'd just be weird, right?" the girl continued to grin nervously.

"How did you two meet?" Valerie asked, only to get an uncomfortable silence, to which she realized what she had just asked and said "O-Oh! I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"That's alright!" The hammer wielder waved off the hidden girl's apology "It was all in the past, and I'm sure you didn't mean to ask."

"Y-Yeah, sure." She nodded, still feeling slightly guilty for asking such a sensitive question.

"What about you?" Nora asked, much to her confusion "Why are you pretending to be a guy here?" after she said that, those words shocked "Victor" to the core.

"Please don't tell-" The girl cut herself off by seeing the other one smile.

"Don't worry about." The other girl waved off her concerns, as she turns to Ren "We're not gonna tell anyone about this, right Ren?"

"I will keep quiet about this to everyone else." The black-haired boy spoke calmly "I'm sure you have your reasons for dressing up like that."

"Besides, you smell way too good to be a guy anyways." The energetic girl smiled, and then turned to Riley and asked "Why do you look like a girl?"

The girl-looking boy sighed, knowing that he would have no choice but to answer her question.

"Why was I chosen to be the leader?" Aoki asked herself very quietly, not wanting to interrupt the upcoming conversation between her partner and the ginger-haired girl, before thinking _"And why did Riley say that the headmaster made a good choice in choosing me as the leader, I'm not cut out to be one."_

 _*MEANWHILE*_

"You memorized all the desserts you made before?" Ezra asked, looking at the crimsonette as she wrote down many recipes in the yellow notepad at a very fast pace.

"I also memorized the recipes I came up with personally." Ruby added, still writing very fast as she also added recipes that she came up with on her own.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up becoming Miss Davis' protegee." Kiyoshi said, reassembling the scroll before finally finishing it, as he placed back his tools on his belt and the scroll inside his blazer.

"How long were you fixing that thing?" Shun asked, remembering how the boy took his time in fixing the scroll.

"It is a delicate process, as a single mistake will result in a small explosion." The younger boy quickly replied, turning his focus on the rest of Team KLRE.

"Bruh, I got nothin' to talk about on me." Ryoma said lazily, slouching on the table.

"I agree, as there are some things I prefer to keep out of my mind." Kiara's expression darkens slightly as she said that, to which the rabbit faunus shivered as she was right next to her.

"I-I don't have anything interesting to talk about." Lily spoke timidly, looking down "P-Plus, this is my first time being around so many people, especially when all of you have no problems with my faunus heritage." she said that part to the humans in the table.

"I ain't a goddamn racist that's for sure." The reddish-haired boy said, remembering his past times with Cardin as a child.

"I assure you that Klein did not raise me to judge a faunus based on the Schnee family's history with them." The Schnee butler nodded, smiling gently at her "Especially with how Jacques Schnee is running the company as of now."

Miyazaki scowled at the mention of the man, her past memories resurfacing slightly before returning to the present.

"I agree with them," The silver-eyed girl spoke up, finishing her writing as she placed the notepad back inside her coat "I don't have any problems with the faunus, and the amount of discrimination they receive disgust me to no end."

"I didn't think too much about their appearances to begin with." The white-haired boy said, closing his eyes as he crossed his arms "After all, Miss Davis taught me that it's the inside of a person that counts."

"Goldie sounds like a sweet, yet cool old lady if she taught you about that." Fujimori said, smiling as he turned to all of the faunus in the table "I don't have a single problem with all of you, except for the White Fang, 'cuz those guys are bad news."

The wolf faunus turned to her partner as her expression softens before saying "I appreciate that all of you have no problems with our faunus heritage." then another thought crossed her mind _"But Shun is not wrong about the White Fang being a problem."_

"You know, I'm surprised that the teachers would allows some of us to walk around campus without getting into trouble." Kiara mused, cupping her chin as she remembered seeing some of her fellow first-years on the other parts of the school.

"Especially with most of Team WBCM being at History Class taught by Professor Oobleck." Ezra added, nodding in agreement.

"Well, I for one, will attend classes taught by Nurse Himura." Ruby stood up from the table, packing her things and leftovers from the table and then proceeds to leave the dining hall.

"I am curious to see what she would teach us." Nakamura said, standing up from the table as he began following his partner to the class she was going to.

"I shall go as well." Yukino followed her two teammates, while finishing her blueberry muffin, as she was also going to attend the same class.

"Hey, wait up!" The brown-haired boy stood up and ran after them, as he began leaving the dining hall as well.

"I-I'll go with them." Lily said quietly, following Team MRKS, with Yukimura going with her from behind.

"Shall we?" Ezra turned to his partner, to which she smiled slightly as they left the dining hall to attend the class taught by Yuna herself.

* * *

 **Lecture Hall**

"Yes! Yes, prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution-more popularly known as the Faunus War-" Oobleck zoomed around the students, as the walls were filled with various maps and antique drawings "-humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing Faunus population in Menagerie." he points at the map of said-area with his stick, then zooms off to the side for a sip of his coffee before appearing in front of the desk "Now! While this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events! Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day!"

 _"This teacher is a rather unique one."_ Cayden thought, watching the green-haired man move from student to student with his speed.

"Now! Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your faunus heritage?" The man asked, observing the students as he waited for their reactions.

After a few moments, a few of the faunus students, including Magnar raised their hands.

 _"I lived far away from the humans, but I have heard of how they discriminate my kind."_ The silver-haired boy thought, remembering the news and how they showed the humans' racism towards the faunus.

"Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember, students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence!" He sipped his coffee and continued his lecture "I mean, I mean, I mean just look at what happened to White Fang! Now, which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorize to be the turning point in the third year of the War?" a hand is raised, to which he noticed "Yes?"

"The battle at Fort Castle!" A girl with pink hair answered, raising her hand.

"Precisely! And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?"

"Night vision, as many faunus are known to have nearly-perfect sight in the dark." The tan-skinned boy decided to contribute to the class by giving his own answer.

"General Lagune was inexperienced, and made the mistake of trying to ambush the faunus in their sleep." Blake spoke up, raising her hand "His massive army was outmatched, and the general was captured."

"Very good, the both of you!" Oobleck smiled at their answers, before noticing the pink-haired girl raising her hand "Do you have something to say, Miss Kyrielight."

"Sir, may I be excused?" She asked, still raising her hand.

"Very well then." The man nodded, before saying "Be sure to attend the next second-year history class with your team."

"Thank you, sir." Kyrielight, the girl, nodded before leaving the lecture hall on her own.

He then turned back to his class and zoomed away, while saying "Now! Moving on!"

* * *

 **Art Room**

"Haruki-kun!" Kuniaki waved at the boy inside the room "I brought some kohai with Kaede-chan!"

"Tch, can't you see I'm working on something." The boy, Haruki, hissed as he glared at his upperclassman.

"Uh, who are you?" Jaune asked, entering the art room with Weiss and Kaede.

"Haruki Kinoshita, member of Team KHME (Came), and second-year student." He wasted no time introducing himself, to which he went back to what he was doing afterwards.

Haruki was older than his underclassmen by one year, as he has very messy red hair with feline ears on his head, azure blue eyes and a fair complexion. He had a slightly lean build, but is also thin.

The boy was wearing the male uniform, but discards the blazer and waistcoat, rolls up the sleeves of his dress shirt and doesn't tuck them in his pants, and wears his necktie loosely.

"What the hell are you doing here, Kumagawa?" He asked in a low tone "Can't you see that I'm freaking busy."

"Aww, don't be like that!" The green-haired boy pouted childishly "I even brought our kohai here to show them this room!"

"They're first-years, aren't they!" The redhead was quickly getting irritated by his upperclassman "They got classes to attend, and you decide to bring them here!"

"Eh, they don't need to study all the time." Kumagawa said, waving off his underclassman's words "Besides, you need to loosen up so let me help you with our senpai's portrait."

"Is Haruki painting a portrait of Izumi?" Enomoto asked herself quietly, seeing the painting herself.

It was a portrait of a beautiful woman at the age of twenty, as she had black hair in a short bob hairstyle, with dark brown eyes and a fair complexion. She was painted wearing the complete female uniform of Beacon Academy with no changes or additions to it. There was a peaceful forest background painted behind her, as the woman herself had a serene smile completed with an almost peaceful expression.

"Who's that?" Weiss asked the third-year student, looking at the painting as well.

"That's Izumi Kinoshita, she was the leader of Team IYSE (Ice)." The older girl began to explain, her expression turning into sadness "She was our upperclassman, ever since our team became official first-year students back then." she then had a sad smile "She was the epitome of the ideal student, as she was a top student in her own right, and was always kind to us and the staff here and even helped the lower years struggling with their grades with absolutely no hesitation whatsoever."

"What happened to her?" Jaune asked curiously.

"It happened the day before the fourth-year students' graduation day," She let out a sigh, before continuing "She and her team were sent on a mission to defend a village from large hordes of Grimm, but there were just too many for their strength to handle." the girl sent a sad look at the painting, as she said "Izumi allowed herself to be left behind to prevent the incoming Grimm from attacking the villagers as they were evacuated by her team." a small tear went down her right eye "But in the end, she became a casualty for the Grimm and was ultimately overwhelmed by their sheer numbers."

The two underclassmen were shocked as they heard this, considering that they are team leaders themselves for their respective teams, hearing a story like that somewhat gave them another perspective of being a hunter.

"Everyone here was devastated upon hearing the news of her death, especially Haruki." Kaede then shifted her focus to the redhead faunus, as she said "He was an orphan and was constantly wandering the streets as a child, Izumi and her family took him in their home like he was one of their own, regardless of the fact that he was a faunus, which is why he has her family's surname." she closed her eyes and said "He's still coping with her death, which is probably the reason why he's painting a portrait of her."

"That was-" The heiress was cut off by a sudden argument between Haruki and Kuniaki.

"Come on! Let me add some additions to it!" The third-year boy whined, trying to get past his underclassman "I'm sure it will make senpai happy!"

"Stay away from her you bastard!" The second-year snapped angrily, getting close to his breaking point.

"Just let me-" The green-haired boy was suddenly pushed backwards.

"I said stay away from her!" The redhead pulled out numerous throwing knives and threw them at his upperclassman, as the knives covered his arms, legs, and torso.

"What the heck!?" The blonde knight shouted, his eyes widening in horror.

"Why would you do that!?" The white-haired girl glared at her upperclassman.

"Tch, he should've left me alone." Haruki spat, turning back to his painting.

"You're doing it all wrong, you know?" Kumagawa suddenly spoke, shocking all of the ones in the room.

To add more to their shock, he was slowly getting up from the floor, with a wide and unnerving grin that sent shivers throughout the room as he said "You can't just aim for random areas when you use those knives."

"W-What the!?" Weiss spluttered, losing her composure slightly as her eyes turned into white dots, along with Kaede as both of them slowly walked backwards in fear.

"Sometimes, you have to ..." The older boy pulled a knife from the right side of his chest, and stabbed himself in the forehead, his grin growing wider and more creepy " ... aim for a vital spot."

"How are you still smiling!?" Jaune shouted, clearly unnerved by what he just witnessed, along with the second-year redhead.

Before anything else would happen, a pink haired girl entered the art room as she said "Haruki, are you here?"

"Rio?" He looked at the girl staring at him.

"Do you know her?" The heiress asked, finally gaining some of her composure.

"My name is Rio Kyrielight, and I am the leader of Team KHME (Came)." The girl introduced herself as she bowed politely, with a friendly smile "It's nice to meet you."

Rio was at the same age as Haruki, as she has shoulder-length light pink hair with the bangs covering her right eye as she wore red square eyeglasses, dark blue eyes and a slightly pale complexion. She had a slightly petite build, but has a rather large bust underneath her uniform.

She was wearing the female school uniform, but wears a white cardigan and gray knee-high boots with black thigh-high stockings.

"Rio, why are you here by yourself?" The redhead asked, walking up to his leader.

"I was looking for you." Rio meekly replied, twiddling her thumbs.

"Are you serious?" He sighed, shaking his head.

"Hello Rio-chan!" Kuniaki waved in a very friendly manner, while taking out the knives in his body.

"This guy is getting even weirder." The blonde Arc muttered in disbelief.

Kaede chuckled at his words and said "That's Kuniaki for you, Jaune."

"Haruki, do you want to finish the painting of Izumi in our dorm?" The pink-haired girl asked suddenly, rubbing her arm "It looks like Kuniaki was trying to interrupt and ruin your painting, so I think finishing it our team's dorm would be better."

The feline faunus seemed surprised by her words for a brief moment, before sighing "I guess you're right, I'll finish it in our dorm room." he turned to his upperclassman with a small scowl before saying "At least this bastard won't try and ruin my sister's portrait there."

"I'll help you bring it to your dorm if you want." Jaune offered, giving his upperclassman a friendly smile.

He looked wary for a moment, but looked at his leader and then gave out a resigned sigh and said "Fine, but be careful when you're helping me carrying it, understand?" the redhead had a stern expression afterwards.

"Right." His underclassman nodded, before helping the older boy carry his painting, and then leaving the art room afterwards, leaving only the girls and Kumagawa inside.

"So, what's your name?" Rio turned her attention to Weiss, with a curious expression.

In response, the heiress smiled slightly and said "My name is Weiss Schnee, the leader of Team WBCM (Webcam)."

* * *

 **Infirmary**

"Somebody help me!" Shun shouted, constricted by bandages tightly wrapped around his body "She's trying to kill - Agh!"

"I-I'm sorry, I'll fix that!" A peach-haired girl shouted, making the boy's situation worse by violently pulling at the bandages, only adding further to his current pain.

The brown-haired boy currently had his entire body wrapped in bandages, which was the peach-haired girl's poor attempt at demonstrating on how to treat someone injured using bandages.

"I pity him." Miyazaki shook her head, watching the entire thing while doing nothing about it.

"Indeed." Ruby and Kiyoshi said at the same time, also doing nothing.

"S-Should we help him?" Lily asked, wanting to help the poor boy.

"Nah, he'll be fine." Ryoma waved off her concerns, his eyes rolling in amusement.

"Miss Hickey, I believe you can stop now." Yuna smiled tiredly, as Hickey, the peach-haired girl, stopped as she finally released the boy, preventing him from suffocating even further.

"I-I'm sorry, Miss Himura." The girl bowed her head in shame.

"It's quite alright, you can step aside as Miss Miyazaki will be the one to release him from the bandages." The red-haired woman turned to one of her students.

"Very well then." She stepped forward, as she pulled out a small knife from her left boot, before proceeding the slice off the bandages off Fujimori in one swift motion.

Afterwards, the boy's face was suddenly smashed against the pink-haired girl's large breasts, as his face turned red from how soft they were.

"I'm so sorry!" The girl apologizing, hugging him as she closed her eyes shut "I didn't know that I caused you more pain!"

"For a skilled combat medic, Daisy is kind of a klutz when it comes to bandages." Another girl smiled in amusement, watching her best friend's antics as she hugged the boy tighter.

"I have to ask, what are your names?" Ezra asked curiously, with Kiara nodding in agreement.

"My name is Yui Kaname, I'm a member of Team RYDR (Rider)." The girl introduced herself, before introducing her friend "My best friend and partner over there is Daisy Hickey, she's also a member of the team."

"I assume that both of you are third-year students." The crimsonette decided to join in the conversation, looking slightly interested.

"Compared to the other third-year teams, our team is pretty normal." She smiled sheepishly as she sweatdropped, with the more eccentric and crazy teams coming to her mind.

Yui was two years older than the first-year students in the room, as she has long chocolate brown hair that is tied into a ponytail with furry dog ears on top her head, light green eyes and a slightly fair complexion. She had an average physique and height, but her legs are slightly toned.

The girl was wearing the female school uniform, but leaves the blazer completely unbuttoned, swaps out the ribbon for a loosely tied necktie, and additionally includes brown leather fingerless gloves.

"Are you feeling better now?" The peach-haired girl asked, still hugging her underclassman close to her breasts, much to his growing embarrassment.

Daisy looked quite young for her age, despite being a third-year student, as she has peach colored long hair with shades of light pink all over and has curls along the edges, creamy pink eyes and a fair complexion. She had a very curvaceous physique, as she has large E cup breasts and wide hips, and is quite short for her age as she is one inch shorter than the silver-eyed girl.

She was also wearing the female school uniform, but swaps out the blazer and waistcoat for a tan-white v-neck sweater that hugged her curves very tightly, to the point where her breasts looked like they were going to pop out if the sweater is stretched even further. The girl additionally wore a black headband over her hair, with a crescent moon patched on the left side of it.

 _"Hey, do you wanna fuck her?"_ Shin cackled inside the boy's head, causing his mind to go into the gutter as his face became as red as his other female teammate's coat.

"I must say, she is quite attractive for her age." The Schnee butler commented, his cheeks dusted pink "As well as well-endowed."

."Well, I'm happy to tell you that Daisy was her age when she still a first-year student." Yui turned to Ruby as she said that, before turning back to the boy "Which means that both of you are pretty much the same age."

"Why do you say that?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's because if you ever plan on dating her, me and the team wouldn't mind." The dog faunus grinned cheekily "Plus, Daisy's totally into kind and caring guys, since she's pretty kind and caring herself."

"Ridiculous, I can't imagine myself being with such a woman." Ezra shook his head, but still stared at the girl "Although, I can't deny what you had just said."

"I'll take that as a maybe." Yui smiled, looking at her best friend "But I'm telling you this because Daisy deserves to be happy, since I'm not gonna stay by her side forever."

The boy looked at his upperclassman for a moment, before smiling and saying "If that is what you want, then I'll consider courting your friend to the best of my abilities." he chuckled sheepishly "After all, Klein raised me to treat a lady with the utmost respect."

"Thank you." The brown-haired faunus closed her eyes, and took out a small box of chocolate covered biscuit sticks.

"What are those?" The silver-eyed girl asked, looking at the box intently.

"Pocky sticks." She answered simply, putting one into her mouth before taking out another one "Do you want one?"

In response, the younger girl took the pocky stick from her hand and placed it into her mouth.

After a few more seconds of embarrassment to Shun, Daisy finally released him as she bowed politely and said "Please accept my apology."

"Don't worry about it." The possession semblance user smiled tiredly, before saying "It's been accepted, while you were still hugging me."

 _"Yeah, while you were smashing your huge tits against our face!"_ Shin chortled in amusement, which was ignored.

"Okay everyone, that's all for the day." Yuna kindly approached her students, with a warm smile "Our next discussion will be about how to use both aura and dust for self-medication."

The students all nodded and made their way out of the infirmary where the redhead's class was held.

* * *

 **Teachers' Lounge**

"The new batch of huntsmen and huntresses are surely promising." Port said, taking a sip of coffee "Miss Rose in particular, is shaping up to be a fine young woman in the future!"

"Admittedly, I am intrigued be the amount of intelligence from Mister Nakamura when I read his files!" Oobleck nodded, gulping down a pot of coffee "The same can be applied to Mister Walsh and Miss Belladonna when it comes to faunus history."

"You guys really are two peas in a pod, you know?" A new voice said from behind, surprising both men.

When the they turned to see the person who spoke, the elderly man smiled happily and said "Mister Roth, it is great pleasure to see you again!"

"It's nice that you two haven't changed a bit, ever since I graduated." The person came into view with a small smirk "Also, feel free to call me Flint, since I'm not a student anymore."

Flint Roth was another Beacon graduate and is another new member of the staff, as he has silver short hair that is spiky on both sides with a small tuft of hair on top, light gray droopy eyes and has a slightly pale complexion. He has a lean, yet slim physique, with toned muscles on his arms.

He was wearing a light gray long coat with a fur-trimmed hood over a light purple long-sleeved v-neck shirt, dark gray jeans and black leather boots with five belt straps in each one. The young man carried two swords on his back that are crisscrossed and are both different in size and weight, while he wears a belt that carries various dust pouches and small blades.

"Flint, I did not expect you to join the Beacon staff." Kiyomi said in slight surprise, entering the teachers' lounge.

"When I heard that there are promising freshmen from the dusty crow, I was like "Why not?", so I decided to come here to teach those kids a thing or two about weaponry." The silver-haired man said grinning, while pulling out one of his swords for emphasis, which was black in color and is sharp enough to cut through steel.

"You always were an enthusiast for weapons back when we were students and partners in the same team." The black-haired woman shook her head, smiling at her former partner and teammate.

"Hello Mister Roth." Ozpin walks into the room with a polite smile "I see that you are joining the Beacon staff, I assume?"

"What's up, headmaster?" The former student said, smiling warmly.

"I have one new student in particular that will surely pique your interest." The green-attired man said, still smiling as he took a sip from his coffee.

"Oh? Go on then," He said, raising an eyebrow in interest "I'm listening."

"Her name is Ruby Rose, and I believe that the two of you will be quite busy discussing over your mutual interests in weaponry." The man explaining, now smiling in amusement.

* * *

 **Dormitory Building**

"There you are!" Ajax said, finally seeing Jaune as he and Pyrrha walk up to him.

"We have been looking all over for you." The redhead Mistralian said in worry.

"Sorry guys, I was helping an upperclassman carry his painting to his team's dorm." The blonde explained, smiling sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.

"Well, we brought some sandwiches for you to eat, since you chose not to eat lunch earlier." His partner took the paper bag from the black-haired boy, as she presented it to him.

"Thanks guys." He smiled, taking the bag "It's been a while since I've eaten."

"Don't mention it bro." The wolf faunus said, grinning as he laced his hands behind his head.

Meanwhile, Teams MRKS and KLRE waved at each other as they parted ways to enter their respective dorms.

"This day has surely been interesting." Miyazaki said, taking off her blazer.

"Indeed it was." Kiyoshi nodded in agreement, proceeding to take off his boots.

"I need a shower." Shun said, walking into the bathroom.

The white-haired boy turned to see Ruby looking over her yellow notepad, as she studied the recipes written in it.

"Are you okay?" He asked, surprising the girl as she looked over to him.

"I am, why do you ask that?" The crimsonette asked, placing away her notes as she took off her coat.

"Ever since I gave you that leg massage, your face has been turning quite red lately." He explained, slowly unbuttoning his dress shirt "Especially when people started to tease you about your current relationship with me."

In response, she flushed upon remembering the massage she received, but before she would say anything, the girl noticed that her partner's body is littered with scars throughout his toned body, as her eyes widen in surprise.

Her said partner notices her expression and says "How I received these scars will be explained in the future, but I will tell you that my childhood was quite rough before entering Beacon Academy."

Afterwards, Goldie's words came into the silver-eyed girl's mind.

 _"I hope all of you treat Kiyo here with great respect and get along with him, he's closest person I have to an actual son and he's been through very tough times in his childhood before comin' here."_

 _"Kiyoshi."_ She thought, worried about her partner _"I wonder what type of childhood did you go through to receive those scars on your body."_

Unbeknownst to both of them, Yukino noticed the scars as well, with her expression being one of subtle worry.

 _"Kiyoshi Nakamura, I hope that all of us will know more about you during our time here."_ The white-haired girl thought, wishing to know more about her other male teammate, as the responsibilities of being the team leader began to weigh itself in her mind.

Both her and Ruby will get those answers soon, but at a very great cost, which will include the lives of innocent people, both humans and faunus alike.

 **Wow! 12K words and this chapter was a pain to write, but it was worth it. I decided to add more OCs to give Beacon Academy more life and wonders. I will write bios for them in a future chapter, but after the next twelve chapter. I hope you've been liking this story so far and please review!**

 **Introduced OCs: Goldie, Kaede, Kuniaki, Haruki, Rio, Yui, Daisy and Flint**

 **Next Chapter: Meeting Team SWAN**


	22. C14: Meeting Team SWAN

**Okay! This chapter will basically introduce another second year team, but they will be important to plot as the story goes on. Expect only character interactions and a small fight scene.**

 **On another note: These new characters do not belong to me as they belong to another writer named The Celestial Sky Dragon :)**

 **Onto the story!**

 **Beacon Academy**

The sun rose as it shined upon the proud prestigious academy that trains the future saviors of Remnant, also known as the Huntsmen and Huntresses.

One team in particular is now returning from a mission given to them by the headmaster of the academy itself, to which it consisted of two boys and two girls.

"Man, that mission was tough, but I'm glad we're finally back." A silver-haired boy said in a relaxed voice.

"Easy for you to say, we ended up missing the official first day of classes." A white-haired girl with twin tails said, shaking her head in exasperation "In our second year at that."

"Hmph! If you two hadn't been going around picking a fight with those thugs, we would've came back earlier!" Another white-haired girl said in an annoyed tone.

"Eh, those guys deserved it for talking shit about my leader's kind." A brown-haired boy said, taking a sip from his favorite soft drink.

"Relax girls, let's just head to the headmaster's office, since the man had something to tell us before our mission ended." The silver-haired boy said, smiling.

"I just want to spend all day in my bed." The twin-tailed girl said tiredly.

* * *

 **Ozpin's Office**

The silver-haired man smiled contently as the team stepped out of the elevator, entering his office.

"Professor Ozpin, is there something you would like to tell us?" The second white-haired girl spoke in a refined manner, bowing politely to him.

"I assume that your team has completed the mission, Miss Moatzagoatl?" He asked, lacing his hands together.

"Yes, though these two made it even longer than it should've been." She said irritably, looking at the two boys.

"Oh come on, it was just a small fight." The silver-haired boy waved off her words.

"You and I both know that you love picking fights, Sora." The girl crossed her arms over her large chest "And I'm pretty sure that you and Nick actually crushed them in your "small fight"." she emphasized the last part with air quotes.

Sora, the silver-haired boy, smiled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head "I guess you got me there, Angel."

"Eh, it was still worth it." Nick, the brown-haired boy, shrugged indifferently.

"Now then, I must inform the four of you that the new first-year students have finished their initiation." Ozpin spoke up, getting the attention of the four students "Yesterday was their first day of classes, and we have quite the interesting batch."

"So our underclassmen are here now then?" The first white-haired girl asked, stepping forward slightly.

"Indeed they are, Miss Azar." The headmaster nodded, smiling in amusement "Furthermore, I believe that some of the first-year students will pique your interests."

* * *

 **Classroom 1**

The students were all in the classroom as they waited for their homeroom teacher, with some already falling asleep in their desks, like Nora and Ajax.

Ruby was in her seat, still thinking about the scars she saw on her partner's body with an expression of subtle worry, but sighs and tries to focus on other things.

 _"Putting those scars aside, I never thought that his body would look so ..."_ She couldn't finish her own thought, as a large blush appeared on her normally pale face.

As if on cue, Kyosuke opened the door as he entered the classroom, but with four other students that consisted of two males and two females, all of which seemed older than the first-year students on their desks.

"Students, please stand." He said, with the students standing up from their desks "I have been told by Professor Ozpin to introduce you all to Team SWAN." the man looked over to the four older students "You can introduce yourselves now."

One of two boys grinned as he stepped forward and introduced himself "Hey there, the name's Sora Loire and I'm the leader of Team SWAN."

Sora was slightly older than the students was facing, as he has short spiked silver hair with bright blue strands running through it with feline ears on top of his head, heterochromatic eyes with his left eye being amber and the right eye being cerulean blue, and has a fair complexion. The boy has a lean build, as well being as tall as Shun.

He was wearing the male Beacon Academy school uniform, but wears a white cloak over it and leaves out the necktie.

"My turn." A white-haired girl stepped forward and said "My name is Angelina Moatzagoatl, and I am a member of Team SWAN, as well as a partner to this idiot." she pointed to the silver-haired faunus as she said that, with said faunus smiling as he was not at all bothered being called an 'idiot'.

Angelina was also as old as Sora, as she has long smooth hair that reaches down mid-back and is completely kept straight, bright blue eyes and a fair complexion. The girl had an hourglass build, with wide hips and large D-cup sized breasts, which caught the attention of a few of the first-year boys.

She was wearing the female Beacon Academy school uniform, but decorates parts of her blazer with multicolored feathers, as well as the right side of her hair with white feathers.

"Are those balloons on your chest?" Kiyoshi asked bluntly, surprising many of his classmates at his sudden brutal honesty.

The brown-haired boy snorted, earning a nudge by another white-haired girl, while Angelina scowls and says "Do you wanna get slapped?"

With those words said, Ruby stands up from her seat and immediately bows to her upperclassman, before saying "S-Sorry! Please don't mind him!"

"Hey, it's alright." The other white-haired girl said, before turning to the other one "Right?"

"You're lucky that your friend stepped in." She said, sticking her nose up before allowing the other girl to introduce herself.

"Now then, my name is Whitney Azar, a member of Team SWAN." The older girl smiled politely and bowed "I hope we get along in the future."

Whitney was a rather beautiful young woman, as she has long white hair that falls mid-back and is tied into twin tails with the left tail being bright blue and the right being bright orange, chocolate brown eyes and an ivory white complexion. The girl also had an hourglass figure and wide hips, but her breasts were not as big as the other girl as it was a B cup size.

She was also wearing the female school uniform, but wears a v-neck cream-colored instead of a blazer and wears a necktie instead of a ribbon.

 _"She seems nicer than the other girl."_ Lily thought, smiling softly.

"Yo, what's up!" The brown-haired boy stepped forward and pointed a thumb at himself "The name's Nicholas Aarde, member of Team SWAN, but you call me Nick."

Nick was as old as the rest of his team, as he has messy brown hair with bangs that covered his left eye, dark brown eye color and a fair complexion. He is quite tall, with a lean and muscular build.

He was wearing the male school uniform, but does not wear the blazer and waistcoat and rolls up the sleeves of the dress shirt and loosely wears the necktie.

After his introduction, Hayashi stepped forward and said "Team SWAN will be watching over your first period, as we will be at the amphitheater again." his expression became slightly stern "I will personally train all of you how to fight barehanded, with no semblances, aura, nor weapons."

The students couldn't help but obediently nod at what he had said.

 _"Professor Hayashi seems like a good man."_ Shizuka thought, looking down as she twiddled her thumbs _"I'm sure that he wouldn't really hurt us in class."_

"Alright then, let's move." The man began walking out of the classroom, while saying "Team SWAN, follow me.", as the said team also went out the classroom.

* * *

 **Amphitheater**

"Listen up, all of you." Kyosuke said, facing the students as they were in their gym uniforms "I will pick one pair at a time, as the said pair will be the ones made in your initiation." he then continued "The reason for this, is to gain a better understanding of your partner and their fighting style, as well as yourself."

"Man, Kyo still has that poker face." Sora shook his head in amusement "But I can tell that he's pretty much changed ever since he's graduated."

"The first pair will be Ajax Silver and Victor Stark." He called, with the pair standing up from their spots "Both of you, get into position."

As the two students got into position, Ajax smirked and said "Just to let you know, I'm gonna go easy on you, since I pretty much mastered my teacher's hand-to-hand combat lessons."

His partner merely smirked back in response, before both of them dashed towards each other and began trading blows, with neither gaining the upper hand in their spar as it went on for a full two minutes.

"I guess he wasn't kidding when he said he mastered his teacher's lessons in hand-to-hand." Shun mused, putting a hand to his chin.

"Victor is no slouch in hand-to-hand as well." Yukino said, narrowing her eyes at the 'boy', before thinking _"But I have a feeling that Victor might not be "his" real name."_

The hidden girl dodged a punch and an elbow from the boy, to which she retaliated by delivering a leg sweep that catches him off guard for a brief second, before he stands on his two hands and puts his two feet around the girl's neck and pushes her to the ground with him sitting on her stomach as he was on top of her.

"How's that?" The black-haired faunus said, smirking triumphantly.

In response, she reaches out her hands and wraps her arms against the boy's neck, before pulling his face directly towards her chest.

 _"Huh?"_ He felt something soft against his face, before realizing what it was and blushes out of sheer embarrassment.

Her tactic seemed to work, as her partner stood up slightly, to which she took the opportunity to wrap her legs around his waist and places him in the same position she was in.

"You were saying?" Valerie smiled sweetly, much to her partner's slight annoyance.

Afterwards, she stands up and jumped backwards, before assuming another stance.

The black-haired boy responds by dashing towards her as he attempted to do a roundhouse kick to the side of her head.

However, she had anticipated the move slightly, as she moved her head to dodge the kick and then catches his leg with both hands, much to his shock.

But she wasn't finished yet, as she then proceeds to flip him over with a surprising amount of strength, to which he landed on his stomach, with the girl now sitting on his back as she then grabs his arms and locked them in place.

"I win." She whispered, winking in triumph.

"Alright then, both of you can stop now." Kyosuke said calmly, carefully observing the two students as they stood up "I will now call the next pair."

The students tensed as they waited to be called by their homeroom teacher.

 _*ONE HOUR LATER*_

Each pair had varying results, as some spars dragged on for too long, while others ended very quickly, but with some not being able to spar fully.

Ryoma and LIly ended almost immediately, as the latter showed absolutely no skill or strength to fight with her bare hands from the get-go.

Cardin and Sky ended in a draw, but the latter passed out afterwards.

Ren and Nora took a fair amount of time with both of equal in hand-to-hand, before the former managed to gain the upper hand by pinning down his partner/best friend.

Weiss and Cayden also ended immediately, with the latter simply applying a small neck chop to the former, effectively knocking her out as soon as she got close.

Shun and Miyazaki were also equal in their spar, before the latter applied the same tactic by Valerie, except that she nearly breaks the former's left arm.

Blake and Magnar also ended in a draw, with both students exhausted from trading surprisingly equal blows, though the former initially had the upper hand at the beginning.

Dove and Russel ended quite pathetically, as the latter simply kicked the former in the face, knocking him out cold.

Ezra and Kiara ended also in a draw, but neither of them were exhausted from trading multiple blows to each other.

Shizuka and Riley was another spar that ended immediately, as the former was simply too timid and hesitant to truly get into position, forcing Hayashi to end the spar prematurely, though he could understand her reasons behind doing so.

Marty and Rika ended up taking each other down, as both of them punched each other in the face, knocking themselves out in the process.

Ruby and Kiyoshi were yet another equal in terms of hand-to-hand, but the fight abruptly ended after both of them got into a rather compromising position, with the latter pinning down the former by holding down her arms as his legs were locked onto her waist, causing the poor girl to pass out from embarrassment with an extremely red face.

Pyrrha and Jaune also ended immediately, as the latter was quickly knocked out by the former as she accidentally sends him towards a wall, to which she apologized profusely afterwards.

Team SWAN watched the whole class and all of the spars with varying reactions.

Sora chuckled at some of the quickly ended spars, though he felt great pity for the blonde and showed some interest towards the white-haired faunus.

Whitney was interested in some of the first-year students, notably Valerie, Ajax and Nakamura.

Angelina rolled her eyes at some of the spars that ended quickly, but felt a great amount of recognition as soon as she saw the heiress and Schnee butler.

Nick was interested in Yukimura and Magnar, though he keeps it to himself.

"Students, class dismissed." The brown-haired man said, closing his scroll "Miss Rose, please see me and Professor Roth in the new weapons forge."

"Me?" The crimsonette turned to her partner, who nodded at her "Okay then."

With those words said, she followed her homeroom teacher out of the amphitheater.

"On another note, all of you are actually allowed to attend any class as you please." He explained to the first-year students, with a small smile "As well as to explore the campus freely, as long as you don't get into any trouble."

"Hey guys." The twin-tailed girl walked towards to the three first-years she was focused on "Mind if we talk for a bit?"

"Sure." The black-haired boy said, grinning.

"I have some time to spare." The hidden girl shrugged, with a small smile.

The white-haired boy sighed as he spoke up "I know a place for the four of us to converse." he turned around and then said "Follow me."

Curious, the three other students followed the younger boy out of the amphitheater, presumably to the old weapon's forge.

"Weiss." The heiress turned around to see the buxom white-haired girl rubbing her arm nervously "Can we talk?"

"I was going to return to the art room anyway." She smiled at her old friend "Let's converse there."

"S-Sure." Angel responded, surprisingly nervous _"I hope she doesn't remember what I did to her when we were kids."_

Afterwards, both girls went out of the amphitheater and made their way to the art room.

"I-I'm going to check out the art room." Lily said timidly, quietly making her way out as well.

Before Ryoma would try to follow her, he hears someone calling out to him "Hey!"

He turns around to see Nick waving at him with a friendly smile.

"'Sup, what do ya need?" The taller boy waved lazily, though he had a small smile on his face.

"I don't talk with a lot of people, besides my team." The brown-haired boy looked around as a grin crept up to his face "But you seem like a pretty chill guy, so let's talk a bit, you know?"

"Eh, I don't see why not?" He shrugged, but before he would follow his upperclassman, his old and former friend called out to him.

"Hey you!" The bulky teen walked up to him with an angry glare "Don't think I haven't-"

The Winchester was immediately silenced by the earth user punching him in the face with an expression of mild annoyance.

"Heh, nice one." The reddish-haired boy gave him a thumbs up with a toothy grin.

"Let's go somewhere else." The one-eyed boy made his way toward the redhead bull faunus, which piqued Yukimura's interest as he followed him.

Meanwhile, Sora was already conversing with Yukino, and to a lesser extent, Jaune.

"So, I heard that you have an ice semblance." The feline faunus said, lacing his hands behind his head.

"Then what if I said I do?" She asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Help me on a little experiment I just came up with." He requested with a small grin.

"Uh, I'm right here, you know?" The blonde came in, smiling nervously.

"And I have just the perfect tester for the job." The heterochromatic boy looked at his underclassman with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Huh?" He was confused, not knowing of he was about to partake in.

* * *

 **Old Weapons Forge**

The three underclassmen needed to change back into their school uniforms before making their way to the old weapons forge, with their upperclassmen following from behind.

As soon as they went inside, the three newcomers were in awe at the number of devices, gadgets, and weapons, while the white-haired boy goes on to fix a different scroll.

"Whoa, you built all of these things by yourself?" Ajax asked, awed by the devices made by the younger boy.

"It's what I do in my spare time." Kiyoshi replied, shrugging as he turned a screw on one of his scrolls.

"How many scrolls do you have?" Valerie questioned, seeing the stack of scrolls on one of the tables.

"That will be something for you to merely speculate." He quickly said, placing down the scroll and picking up another one as he turned it on.

"Hello, master~!" A voice came from the scroll in a happy tone.

"Rin, are my old files still intact?" The boy questioned the scroll, to which an avatar came onscreen.

The avatar itself was in a form of a teenage girl, as she has long dark purple hair tied into two slightly long pigtails, bubblegum pink eyes and a pale complexion. The girl on the scroll had a petite build, but is fairly busty with C-cup breasts underneath the baggy clothing she is shown to wear.

She was wearing a baggy light purple hoodie with very long sleeves that completely cover her arms and it did a fair job at hiding her hidden curves, a black short skirt, and gray boots with black thigh-high stockings with dark purple lines on sides.

"What is that?" Whitney spoke up, staring at the device's screen.

"To answer your question!" The avatar, Rin, spoke up with a small grin "My name is Artificial Intelligence Rin-chan, created by the great Kiyoshi Nakamura-kun!" she then had a somewhat sheepish look "But please just call me Rin."

"How is that even possible?" She asked, her brows furrowing in thought.

"Other than simple advanced technology, she is my own product of an artificial life created by aura, along with some artificially created dust from my semblance." The boy explained, before briefly facing his upperclassman and saying "Furthermore, she may be an A.I., but I have grown to see her as an actual girl despite lacking a physical body."

"Yup yup!" The female A.I. turned to her master with a sly grin "So, you and Ruby-chan~?"

 _"Wow, I've heard that his semblance his creation from Professor Ozpin, but this goes way beyond simply creating things out of nowhere."_ The white-haired twin-tailed girl thought, still staring at the A.I. _"I wonder what else he can do with his aura?"_

"Damn, that's pretty cool." The wolf faunus said, joining the small conversation.

"Jeez, how many smart people do we have now?" The short-haired girl said, smiling in amusement.

"What other things can you do with your aura?" The fire user asked, growing even more curious.

The white-haired boy seemed to be in thought for a moment, before wordlessly holding out his hand as his aura is transmuted into fire, setting his own hand on fire, while the others are shocked, especially the fire user herself.

"You can do that with your aura!?" Whitney exclaimed, shocked by what she is seeing.

"Yes, along with any other substance or element I can think of." Nakamura explained briefly, putting out the fire in his hand "This is not even half of what my aura is capable of."

"Dude, that was badass!" Ajax shouting, grinning excitedly "Can you-"

"However, before you ask me to show you all more." The younger boy cut him off with a sharp look "I am sorry to inform you that I do not intend on showing off more of my aura abilities." his focus returned to his A.I. "I have already shown enough of what I can do."

"Okay then." The two underclassmen turned to face the older girl as she had a smile of understanding "I'm not gonna ask about how you did that." the white-haired girl looked at the A.I. briefly "After all, we all have abilities that we keep to ourselves."

"I ... guess you're right." The black-haired boy said, rubbing his arm sheepishly.

"I have no complaints over that." Valerie closed her eyes and shrugged.

"Though, I have to ask about these devices you made." The older girl grinned cheekily, holding up the mini-tank.

"Master, are you going to tell them?" Rin questioned, tilting her head curiously.

"It can't be helped for now, Rin." Her creator stood up and began to speak a lengthy explanation of his skills regarding devices.

After thirty minutes of a long and detailed explanation, the three other students in the room saw the younger boy in a new light.

* * *

 **Art Room**

"So, is this one of your newest hobbies?" Angel questioned, staring at her old friend as she painted a medium-sized portrait of herself and her family.

Weiss, now in her school uniform, turned to her and said "Yes, Rio gave me a small tour of this place, but I found myself accustomed to this place in an instant." afterwards, she turned back to her painting.

"O-Oh, okay then." The buxom white-haired girl smiled nervously, but then thought _"Keep it down Angel, why are you being so nervous!?"_

As if on cue, Lily enters the art room in her school uniform as she carried some arts and crafts supplies.

"E-Excuse me, can someone-" She cut herself, seeing her upperclassman's piercing glare, to which she drops the supplies and shouts "I-I'm sorry!"

Realizing what she did, the wind user widens her eyes in surprise and said "W-Wait! I'm sorry for glaring at you, I thought that idiot Sora would come in and embarrass me."

"Sora?" The rabbit faunus now lost her fear, but tilts her head in slight confusion.

"My partner." The older girl sighed tiredly, shaking her head "Even though I no longer detest him, he still finds ways to annoy me to no end."

"Y-You're not glaring at me for being a faunus?" She questioned nervously, her hands trembling.

"No." Her upperclassman answered simply, making her way towards her as she sighed "Honestly, I used to think that your kind was a gift from the Devil himself and that those who associate with them should burn in hell."

"W-What!?" That didn't ease the petite girl's nervousness as it only caused her fear to return.

 _"Damn it!"_ She cursed herself inwardly, before saying "B-But, I no longer hate the faunus okay!" the girl had a look of shame on her face as she continued "Sora, he showed me that faunus are just as human as me and all the other humans." she then said "I managed to let go of my hate towards them, and I assure you that I'll treat you with the utmost respect."

"Really?" Lily had a hopeful expression on her face.

"Yes." Angelina had a genuine smile as she stood up "I'll help you pick up the things I made you drop."

"T-Thank you!" She stood up and the two of them began picking up the dropped art supplies.

The heiress watched all of this and thought _"I'm happy that she learned to accept the faunus, and hopefully, she still believes that I don't remember being knocked out by her semblance from our childhood."_ she had a small, yet kind smile when that thought crossed her mind, before her attention is focused on the painting again.

"Watch out!" A voice shouted, as an ice ball shot through the doors and blasted the wall, leaving behind an ice covered wall in the process.

"W-What the!?" The brown-haired girl dropped her arts and crafts supplies again, with a surprised expression.

"Dammit Sora!" The buxom white-haired girl growled, knowing that voice.

As if on cue again, the silver-haired faunus laughed as he saw the outcome of his 'experiment', with Yukino and Jaune coming inside the art room, though the latter had a nervous expression.

"See? That wasn't so bad, right?" The older boy asked his underclassmen.

However, the blonde was focusing on his upperclassman's partner as he said "Angel, right?" he gulped as he continued "I guess the guy you like, Sora, is a bit-"

"What did you say!?" The wind user roared, losing control of her semblance briefly as the boy ends up being sent through the wall, with the hole being the shape of his body.

"Eek!" The rabbit faunus immediately made her way to the wolf faunus, and then hides behind her in fear.

The said wolf faunus surprisingly looked ready to protect one of her fellow faunus, to which she narrowed her eyes at the Moatzagoatl.

"I don't like him, you moron!?" Angel roared, but her face was flushed in embarrassment, which meant that she was obviously denying that she felt some feelings for her partner.

"Sure sure, I hear you." Sora grinned cheekily, further adding more to his partner's denial.

"Your partner thought that it would be a good idea to combine our semblances, since mine involved ice." Miyazaki explained, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Is that why the ice is dripping with water?" Weiss spoke up, pointing at the walls as water dripped from the ice.

"Yup." The heterochromatic teen nodded, lacing his hands behind his head.

"I should have known." The wind user muttered under her breath.

"Anyways, I gotta go find Whit and Nick now, so see ya guys later." The feline faunus waved at the girls in the room, before leaving the art room.

The Moatzagoatl now faced the white-haired girl, her expression changing from annoyance to slight nervousness as she struggled to find the right words.

"So? How are you doing today?" The older girl asked with an uneasy smile.

Her underclassman remained silent, her expression being unreadable.

"How's the weather today?"

Still no response.

"I-I like the color of your hair, even though my hair is white too."

Yukino still remained silent, much to the buxom girl's annoyance.

"Ugh, like seriously? I'm trying to be a nice person!" Angelina snapped, somewhat unnerved by the younger girl's silence.

In response, she raises an eyebrow and then walks away, without saying a single word.

"Fine! Have it your way!" The busty white-haired girl shouted, before noticing that Lily is still in the room.

"I-I'd like to talk with you." The petite girl said, smiling softly.

With her words, the other girl is surprised by her words before smiling back and saying "Sure, I'd like that too."

"Perhaps, I should join." Weiss stepped in, bowing politely before gesturing to her painting "Furthermore, I would love to have some people having a look at my art."

The painting itself was a beautifully painted portrait of the Schnee family, as they stood behind the SDC in it's glory days, to which the background was beautifully painted as well.

"Wow, that looks so pretty." The rabbit faunus said in awe, before looking at the heiress.

"Indeed." The older girl nodded in agreement, smiling inwardly "I have a lot to catch up with you, Weiss."

Afterwards, the three girls decided to spend their wonderful time in the art room.

* * *

 **Classroom 2**

"I guess only that Seto guy and the girly-looking Fei are in this classroom today." Ryoma grunted, playing an arm wrestling match with the earth user.

"Yeah, those two are pretty close ever since they became partners back in our first year." Nick nodded, smirking confidently as he seemed to have the upper hand in arm wrestling.

Magnar watched their match with a curious expression, before turning to the two other students watching.

"What are your names, lads?" He asked, smiling at them.

One of the two boys decided to speak up first, as he said "My name is Seto Kyrielight, the leader of Team SFRN (Saffron)."

Seto was only a year older than the bull faunus, as he has curly brown hair, dark green eyes and a slightly fair complexion. He has a thin and average build, but is fit enough to be a capable huntsman, as well as having some light freckles on his cheeks.

The boy was wearing the male Beacon Academy school uniform, but wears a purple hooded cloak over it with a dragon emblem on it's back, as well as leaving the blazer unbuttoned.

"It's nice to meet you." He finished his introduction, before his friend introduced himself next.

"My name is Fei Mori, I'm Seto's partner and a member of Team SFRN too!" The other boy introduced himself cheerfully.

Fei was also slightly older, as he has light green hair that is tied into two high ponytails, light blue greenish eyes and has a pale complexion. The boy had a slightly below average build, as he has an effeminate face with soft eyes and slightly long eyelashes.

He was also wearing the male school uniform, but chooses to wear a cream-colored sweater vest instead of the blazer and waistcoat.

"I win." The one-eyed boy smirked, winning the arm wrestling match.

"Alright, ya got me there." The taller boy raised his hands in mock surrender, before both of them share a quick laugh over the fun they had on the match.

"Wanna get some Mountain Crisp, it's on me." Nick said, smiling as he stood up.

"Eh, why not?" Ryoma stood up as well "Mountain Crisp was the shit for me when I was a kid."

"Now you're talking." The brown-haired boy said, walking out of the classroom, with his underclassman following him from behind.

"Should we follow the two?" The bull faunus asked the two second-year students.

"It is getting kinda boring in here without anyone else here." Fei admitted, turning to his partner "Let's go."

"Sure, I wanna know what my cousin's up to this time anyway." Seto shrugged, smiling slightly.

"Excellent! Let us get a move on now!" The bulky teen pointed at the door, to which all three of them immediately left the room afterwards.

* * *

 **New Weapons Forge**

"Three different weapons, eh?" Flint asked, smirking in interest "Now you're speaking my language here, kid."

"Is he someone I can approach when it comes to weapons, sir?" Ruby, now in her school uniform, asked her homeroom teacher, curiously observing her new weaponry teacher.

"Trust me, he's an expert when it comes to them." Kyosuke said in a reassuring tone, smiling slightly at his student "I'm sure both of you can get along just fine."

"When you need someone for advice on weapons." The silver-haired man pointed a thumb at himself "I'm your guy."

"Alright then, I'll leave you here for now." The brown-haired man rubbed at his student's head, before proceeding to leave the room without saying anything afterwards.

"Okay kid, what do you need?" The weaponry teacher's smirk turned into a warm smile.

"Um, I would like to upgrade my pistol-gauntlets ..." The crimsonette began and trailed off, before finding her voice "I would like to give them a third transformation, please?"

"What's your name, kid?" The Beacon graduate asked, interested in the girl.

"Ruby Rose, member of Team MRKS (Marx)." She answered somewhat firmly, gaining some confidence.

"I'm just gonna call you Ruby, since I don't do calling people by their last names." He closed his eyes, smiling even more "Alright then, what'll be the third transformation for this weapon of yours?"

"A Sub Machine Gun, MP5K, to be specific." The silver-eyed girl answered, pulling out the weapons in bracelet form "I took the time to put them in my skirt, while Kiyoshi and I went back to the old weapons forge, before heading to our team's dorm yesterday in the afternoon."

"I assume that the bracelet forms are the first transformation then?" Flint asked, to which the girl nodded "What type of handguns is your weapon's pistol form then?"

"Desert Eagles." Ruby answered simply, nodding respectfully.

"Okay, I've heard enough." He stood up and made his way to a table, to which he turned to face his student and said "Let's make that upgrade, Ruby." the man smiled at her when he said that.

"Thank you, sir." The silver-eyed girl nodded, walking over to her teacher as both of them became busy discussing over weapons and making the upgrade for the girl's pistol gauntlets.

* * *

 **Amphitheater**

"The winner of this match is ... Sora Loire of Team SWAN!" Glynda announced, as the mentioned student smiled with the other students applauded.

"Need a hand?" Sora reached his hand out to his opponent, Haruki.

"Do you even need to ask." The redhead smirked, grabbing the boy's hand as he stood up from the floor.

"Mister Kinoshita, you should always estimate that your opponent may outsmart you in battle." The blonde professor said sternly, to which the student nodded, and then turns to the other student "Mister Loire, while I commend you for using a strategy in battle, the same tactic will not be effective on every opponent you face." the other student nodded in response.

"Good match." The silver-haired boy smiled, to which the other boy smiled back and said "You too."

"Now then, the last students to spar will be ... Yukino Miyazaki from Team MRKS and Cardin Winchester from Team CRDL (Cardinal)." The two students called stood up and made their way to the changing rooms.

"I wonder how this fight is gonna go down?" Nick asked quietly to himself, taking a small sip from his Mountain Crisp drink.

"I think the ice chick's got this one in the bag." Ryoma said, looking intently at Yukino as she stepped into the ring in her attire, along with Cardin in his armor.

"You're going down, freak!" The armored boy growled, glaring at his opponent "You crushed my balls back at the very first day of going to this school, and now you're gonna pay for it!"

 _"This is a waste of my time."_ The wolf faunus thought, not bothering to get into a fighting position.

"Begin!"

The boy advanced first, swinging his mace wildly, to which the girl effortlessly dodges them as she seemed to stare at him with an unreadable expression.

"She's not gonna take him seriously, that's for sure." Shun smiled, knowing what will happen.

"Why do you say that?" Seto asked, sitting next to his underclassman, along with Fei.

"You'll see." The possession semblance user winked at them, before gesturing to the spar.

"Stop moving and let me hit you!" Cardin growled angrily, losing his patience.

In response, the white-haired girl decided to use her semblance and encase him in a block of ice, right before he would make another move, much to the surprise of most of the students watching.

 _"Huh, her semblance is pretty useful when it's used to fight."_ Sora thought, observing his underclassman.

After a few seconds, Miyazaki performed a sideways kick, breaking the ice as the boy is blasted out of the ring and crashes into the wall.

"Mister Winchester is out of the ring, as well as his aura being in the red." Glynda mused, reading her scroll before announcing "The winner of this match is ... Yukino Miyazaki of Team MRKS!"

The students loudly cheered for the girl, as she looked around with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Miss Miyazaki, as much as I commend you for your victory, make sure not to underestimate your opponents." The blonde professor scolded lightly "You'll never know what they are truly capable of."

"Yes ma'am." The wolf faunus nodded respectfully, before walking off the stage.

"Way to go there." She turned around to see the water user grinning and giving her a thumbs up "I liked how you didn't take the guy seriously."

"Thank you, Sora." The ice user nodded, before going into the changing rooms, while the Winchester is brought to the infirmary.

* * *

 **Team SWAN Dorm Room**

"Man, today was really fun." Sora stretched his arms, in his sleepwear as he lay on his bed.

Angel rolled her eyes, but was nevertheless amused "For you that is, I had a wonderful time conversing with my old friend, Weiss, and my new friend, Lily."

"I just learned lots of new things about Kiyoshi." Whitney said simply, already on the bed.

"I don't usually talk to anyone but you guys, but ..." Nick trailed off for a second before saying "Ryoma's a pretty chill guy, I'll even talk to that Magnar guy when I get the chance."

"Our underclassmen are really something special this year, huh?" The water user mused to himself quietly, a smile creeping up to his lips "Things never change when it comes to freshmen."

His teammates couldn't help but agree with his words, as they were also considered special in their time as first-year students, due to their elemental semblances.

 _"I wonder if I can talk to that Yukino girl."_ The buxom white-haired girl thought, sitting on her bed _"Or is it Miyazaki?"_

But she could only answer her own question for another time, as darkness took over her field of vision before falling asleep.

 **To be continued ...**

 **Honestly, I'm feeling very tired now and I'll make this quick. The next chapter will involve the first-year students going through training ... from hell ;)**

 **On another note: Celestial, I hope I did your characters justice as I tried to write them in-character.**

 **Introduced OCs: Sora, Whitney, Angel, Nick, Rin, Seto and Fei.**

 **Next Chapter: Training from Hell**


	23. C15: Training From Hell

_**Okay everyone! This chapter will all be about the first-year students going through training from ... hell, with the third and fourth-year students acting as their drill sergeant/trainer.**_

 _ **Onto the story!**_

 **Beacon Academy**

The first-year students have went through a full week of classes, most of which were uneventful, except for the first two days for obvious reasons.

However, the new batch of hunters-in-training will get their first taste of hell once Monday comes around.

Inside the headmaster's office was the headmaster himself, along with the Beacon graduates, with the exception of Kiyomi.

"So, you're really gonna do it, Oz?" Flint asked, his hands on his pockets.

"If it will help them improve on their skills as huntsmen-in-training, then I have no qualms telling the third and fourth-years train the new batch themselves." Ozpin said, smiling in amusement "Don't you think, Flint?"

A chuckle escaped the younger silver-haired man as he said "You make a good point, but do you think they'll go easy on them?"

"Not at all, considering their rather interesting semblances." The older man said wryly, taking a sip from his mug.

"How are we going to relay this information to the first-year students then?" Yuna asked, joining in the conversation.

"I have an interesting, yet old-fashioned way of doing that." Edward said, smiling as he had a slight mischievous glint in his eyes behind his glasses.

"I know where you're going with this." Kyosuke smirked slightly, as he turned to the headmaster "Oz, what do you think?"

"We might as well surprise them." The green-attired man turned to his former students with a smirk of his own "Very well then."

"Well, let's go then." The weaponry teacher straightened himself "We can't keep those kids waiting."

"Kyosuke and I will notify the third and fourth-years on what they are going to do." The red-haired woman said, rolling her way towards the elevator.

"I'll see you all later." The brown-haired man waved, following after his former partner.

"Let's see if these kids can survive what's thrown at them." The glasses wearing man mused, crossing his arms.

* * *

 **Dormitory Buildings**

The first-year students were sleeping soundly in their dorm rooms, as they prepared themselves for another uneventful day in classes.

However, an extremely loud horn goes off, startling most of the students awake, with the exceptions of Kiyoshi and surprisingly Ryoma.

"Huh? What was that?" Shun mumbled, slowing rising from his bed.

" **Attention**! **All first-year students must gather at Beacon Cliff**!" Glynda's voice boomed throughout the building as it came through some speakers " **Wear your given gym uniforms, and bring your weapons as well**!"

"I assume that we will be going through physical training today." Kiyoshi said, cupping his chin thoughtfully.

"Who the fuck woke me up!" Ryoma's voice came from outside of the dorm room.

Ruby could swear that she heard Lily desperately calming him down, but shook her head as she payed no mind to it as she and Yukino proceeded to go into the bathroom to change into their gym uniforms, while the boys changed into theirs.

Afterwards, the team went out of the dorm room as they met up with Team KLRE and Team SAVR.

"Team SAVR, I did not expect that we would see you all here with us today." The white-haired girl said, as her and her team walked towards the other team.

"W-Well, the others went out at different times." Shizuka spoke up, twiddling her thumbs.

"That's true." Riley nodded in agreement, cupping his own chin in thought "Though I'm surprised that the other teams went out faster than all of us combined."

"I suggest that we should head for Beacon Cliff now." The white-haired boy said before a conversation would start "I have a feeling that the teachers have a reason to call us there at this time in the morning."

"He's right." Kiara nodded, before making her way out of the building with the team "Let's go."

* * *

 **Beacon Cliff**

"Ah students, it is a pleasure to see you all here today." Ozpin smiled at the students as they approached him and four students that are completely unfamiliar to them.

"Professor Ozpin, who are they?" Ruby asked politely, pointing at the four students looking at them.

"Miss Rose, I would like to introduce you and your fellow first-year students to Team MACK (Mack), led by Minako Akatsuki." The headmaster introduced the four students before continuing "They are a fourth-year team, and they will all personally train all of you in terms of your physical strength and endurance, along with Team HAZY (Hazy), and third-year teams RYDR and KOMK."

"Fufufu! All of you look so cute, I could just eat you up~!" One of the students chirped, giggling behind her hand before saying "But not literally," she then proceeded to introduce herself "My name is Minako Akatsuki, and I'm the leader of Team MACK~!" the girl winked at her underclassmen "At your service!"

Minako Akatsuki was a beautiful young woman as she was now twenty years at age, as well as being at her last year at Beacon Academy, as she has long light brown hair that reached down her back and is tied into twin tails with large fluffy fox ears on her head, sky blue eyes and a fair complexion. The young woman was quite voluptuous as she has an hourglass build, with D-cup sized breasts, wide hips, and well-rounded behind, as well as having four large fox tails behind her back.

She was wearing a bright blue off the shoulder Furisode kimono, with a white collar, a black embroidery on the bust as it trailed down mid-thigh which accented her hips, a black sash around her waist, lengthy sleeves that reached her ankles, and also wears black flats with thigh-high dark blue stockings.

Needless to say, she caught the eyes of most of the first-year male students, excluding Ezra, Kiyoshi and Ren.

"Fufufu! It seems that my looks have caught the eyes of my kohai~!" Minako exclaimed dramatically, much to the amusement of her team.

"My turn." Another student stepped forward as he introduced himself next "My name is Cyrus Armand, member of Team MACK, and Minako is my partner." he bowed politely at them afterwards.

Cyrus was as old as his partner, as he has white unkempt hair that swept to the left, dark brown eyes and a slightly pale complexion. He was a tall young man as he towered over most of his male underclassmen, except Magnar, along with having a thin and somewhat muscular build.

He was wearing golden armor over a black skintight suit underneath, with spiked gauntlets and a flowing red cape behind his back. The young man seemed to wield a large spear with an extremely sharp silver tip.

Overall, he seemed a bit intimidating to some of the more soft-spoken first-years, specifically Lily and Shizuka.

"I look forward to-" He was cut off by another male pushing him out of the way with a large toothy grin as he stared at the freshmen before him.

"Hot damn!" The other male student grinned, whistling in appreciation "All of ya look great!" he gave a thumbs up "The name's Jedrek Kowalski, member of Team MACK." he then gave them a look of determination "Nice to fuckin' meet ya all!"

Jedrek was also as old as the rest of his team, as he has jet black unruly hair that reached his shoulders, chocolate brown eyes and a slightly tanned complexion. He was slightly shorter than his fellow male teammate, but had a very bulky and muscular build.

The young man wore a rather simple outfit compared to his teammates', as it consisted of a leather brown vest over a black tank top, dark gray trousers, and dark brown combat boots. He also wore spiked wristbands and a spiked collar around his neck.

"Lookin' forward to gettin' you guys in shape!" Jedrek smirked as he gave his underclassmen another thumbs up "Fuckin' count on that!"

"Your language is quite colorful as usual, Kowalski." The last student spoke up as they were female, before saying "Should I put you through another punishment session?" there was a dark aura as those words were said.

"N-No!" The black-haired young man paled as he shook his head "T-This won't happen again! I swear!"

"Good." The second female turned to face the first-year students, to which she smiled politely and introduced herself "My name is Amelia Ortiz, I am a member of Team MACK." she bowed politely and continued "It is a great pleasure to meet all of you here today."

Like Minako, Amelia was a beautiful young woman, being the same age as the rest of her team, as she has long straight dark magenta hair that reached the end of her back, dark red eyes and a slightly fair complexion. The young woman had a lean, but curvaceous build, with double D-cup breasts and toned legs that could deliver a devastating kick.

She was wearing a full body transparent skintight suit, with her toned stomach and black bra and panties clearly visible through her suit, as well as wearing non-transparent black cape, black gloves, and silver spaulders, and black combat boots with dark purple thigh-high stockings.

Her appearance earned wolf whistles from Team CRDL and even Marty and Ajax, though the latter kept it to himself.

 _"I highly question her choice of combat attire."_ Ezra thought to himself, looking over at the introduced fourth-year team, before speaking "Where are the other teams, headmaster?"

The headmaster in question, smirked and said "They are in the Emerald Forest, clearing out the Grimm, so all of you will have your own training grounds."

"I wonder what the other teams look like then?" Weiss questioned quietly to herself, not wanting to be heard by the others, especially her partner and her butler.

"Headmaster Ozpin!" The silver-haired man turned to see Daisy running towards him.

She was wearing a cream-colored sweater that hugged her curves, a red plaid skirt, and brown shoes with black thigh-high stockings. The third-year girl also wore a black choker around her neck with a heart-shaped lock.

"What do you need, Miss Hickey?" Ozpin asked, taking a small sip from his mug.

"The teams are now finished clearing out all of the Grimm." The peach-haired girl informed him, smiling tiredly as she continued to catch her breath "The first-year teams are now free to train in Emerald Forest without having to worry about the Grimm, sir."

"Excellent." The man turned to his students and said "Follow us, students."

All of the first-year students began to follow the headmaster without complaints, other than a few murmuring between some students.

* * *

 **Emerald Forest**

"So these are the last ones?" A male student asked, sitting on a large rock to catch his breath.

"Yes, I believe this area, along with other ones, are now free for the new students to-" A female student cut herself off, seeing the headmaster and Team MACK with the first-year students.

"Students." Ozpin spoke, getting his students' attention "The two students you see before you are Rentaro Haruna, the leader of Team RYDR." he introduced the male student first, before the female "The other is Sakuya Rai, whom is also a member of Team RYDR."

Rentaro Haruna was two years older than his upperclassmen, as he was a third-year student, with him having messy black hair with a slight dark blue tint, sky blue eyes and a fair complexion. He was slightly taller than most of the first-year males, but is slightly shorter than Ryoma, along with having a rather lean, yet thin build.

He was wearing a slate-colored blazer over a white dress shirt that's not tucked in and a light blue loosely tied necktie, black pants, and brown combat boots. The boy also wore a dark brown leather belt that carries various handguns and blades, as well as black fingerless gloves.

Sakuya Rai was the same age as her teammate, as she has shoulder-length light silver hair, icy blue eyes and a slightly pale complexion. She has a slightly petite build, with an average sized bust and slightly toned legs.

The third-year girl wore a short-sleeved dark blue maid's outfit that reaches her thighs, a white apron around her waist, a white maid's headband on her head, and wears knee-high dark brown combat boots with thigh-high black stockings. She also wore a single black glove on her right hand, a dark gray belt filled with knives of various sizes underneath her outfit's skirt, and keeps small multiple knife holsters on her boots and throughout her legs.

"Hey there, Professor Ozpin." Rentaro waved at the headmaster in a friendly manner.

"We have accomplished our objective, headmaster." Sakuya bowed obediently, though her expression was hard to read as it was stoic.

"Alright then, kohai~!" Minako turned to her underclassmen with a playful expression "You're all going to start your training with a long fun run! Fufufu!" she giggled into her hands as she said that.

"That's not so bad." Jaune smiled, feeling some confidence in his chest.

"That'll be the warm up, before the real training begins!" Jedrek shouted, grinning wildly.

 _"Hopefully, this training would help us improve ourselves."_ Riley thought to himself, scrutinizing each upperclassmen.

 _*TEN MINUTES LATER*_

"I was wrong!" The blonde knight shouted, falling to his knees as he panted in exhaustion.

"The run isn't even halfway done yet, fearless leader!" Nora laughed, enjoying herself as she outran her leader to catch up with the others.

"Drat, my stamina is already getting low!" Weiss cursed, panting in exhaustion as well.

The first-year students had began their warm-up training as it was a fun run, but some were already exhausted as they had little to no stamina.

"I-I'm already tired." Lily whimpered, falling behind as she began to slow down.

As if on cue, Kiara immediately grabbed her fellow faunus and used her strength to give her a piggyback ride, much to the latter's embarrassment as she blushed.

"K-Kiara!" The petite girl exclaimed, her face turning red from her blushing.

"Ryoma is too occupied in trying to catch up with the others," The raven-haired girl explained, ignoring the other girl's embarrassment "While Ezra is attempting to interact with students outside of our team."

Blinking, the rabbit faunus turned around to see the Schnee butler attempting to make small talk with the creation semblance user while both boys ran at the same time.

"What do you make of this training?" Ezra asked, looking at the younger boy.

He seemed hesitant for a few seconds before sighing as he gave his response "I'm honestly not surprised by this, since the headmaster expects us to be at our best against such a worldwide threat."

"You make a good point there." The black-haired boy muttered quietly.

Seeing enough, the brown-haired faunus turned away as she focused ahead, seeing the other students running ahead of them.

"Thank you." She said in a very quiet tone, trying to hide her returning blush from the older girl.

Afterwards, the girl looked to see Ryoma and Shun competing against each other as both of them are in the lead.

"Ha! I ain't gonna lose to someone like you!" The reddish-haired boy taunted, grinning in determination.

"Oh yeah! Watch this!" The brown-haired boy performed a quick leg sweep that caused the taller one to fall down, to which he flashed him a cocky smirk.

"That ain't fair ya bastard!" He used his semblance to knock the slightly shorter boy off his feet, causing him to fall as well.

"Eh!?" Shin decided to take over as he growled at the wind user.

However, before both of them would get up and compete against each other again, Ruby suddenly sped past them, much to their surprise.

"Shit!" The tall boy stood up, but the shorter boy grabbed him "Oh no ya don't!"

Lily sighed as she and Kiara bore witness to a petty argument between the two boys, while the latter immediately goes past them, much to the boys' surprise again.

"Son of a bitch!" Both boys shouted as they stood up and started running, to which they compete against each other again.

Meanwhile, Jaune had seemingly given up as he laid on the ground on his stomach, while his partner stopped and looked on in worry.

"Jaune, are you okay?" Pyrrha asked, worried about her partner.

"Help ... me." The blonde latched on to one of her legs, his face still facing against the ground.

The redhead was very hesitant about dragging her partner through the dirt, but realized that she had no choice as she sighed in resignation, before proceeding to move forward as she continuously tugged her left leg to move her unmoving partner.

"Poor Jaune." Shizuka said in a sad tone, looking at the boy being dragged by his partner.

"I'm ... at my ... limit." Weiss panted over and over, as she seemed to lose almost all of her energy.

But before the heiress would fall to the ground, she felt an arm around her back and heard some small grunting, to which she noticed the blue-haired girl helping her stay balanced and on her feet.

"What are you doing?" The older girl asked, surprised by the younger girl's actions.

"I'm helping you." She turned her head to give her a small smile "We may not know each other, but I'm not going to leave you behind." the girl closed her eyes and finished "That's a promise."

Surprise filled the other girl's face, before it turned into a warm one as she spoke "Thank you."

Aoki nodded before looking ahead as she said "Let's go."

With that, both girls moved at a normal pace, but were completely steady as they helped each other out.

This didn't go unnoticed by two fourth-year students watching from the trees, as the students consisted of a blonde young woman and a black-haired young man.

"Damn, didn't think that would happen." The man said quietly, smiling at his underclassmen before turning to the woman "Right Hannah?"

"Indeed." She nodded, smiling as well "We shall introduce ourselves, along with the rest of the team once they finish their run."

"Fine by me." He shrugged, with both of them going silent again as they continued to watch their underclassmen from the trees.

Meanwhile, Ruby stopped as she realized that she went too far ahead from the other students, as well as noticing that she was standing on a white line on the ground, which would be the finish line.

 _"Looks like I went too far."_ She thought, before looking behind her _"Perhaps I should-"_

She was cut off from her thoughts, to which she turned to see Yukino looking at her with an expression of slight amusement.

"How did you-" The crimsonette tried to ask, but was cut off again.

"I doesn't matter how I managed to arrive here ahead of you." The white-haired girl crossed her arms "But I happen to remember that you would want lessons on long-distance accuracy, which is why I'm here first."

"Oh!" The other girl blushed, before rubbing the nape of her neck with a sheepish expression "I-I'm sorry for forgetting about that."

"That is fine." Her expression softened as she pointed her thumb at another direction "I have already set up targets over in that direction." the girl turned around and then said "Follow me."

Upon hearing those words, the silver-eyed girl wordlessly followed the wolf faunus as both of them began going to a different area, which would be away from their fellow first-year students, as well as the male members of their team.

Kyosuke and Yuna watched the two girls from a distance, with the latter sporting a concerned expression.

"Should we tell the headmaster about this?" The red-haired woman asked her former teammate.

"No, just them be." The brown-haired man smiled slightly "I think it's for the best to let them bond and know each other more, even if they won't take part in the training."

"Alright then." His former team leader nodded hesitantly, still worried for the two girls.

 _*THIRTY MINUTES LATER*_

Almost every first-year student made it to the finish line and are now waiting for teams MACK, HAZY and KOMK, except Ruby and Miyazaki for obvious reasons.

"Where are they?" Russel asked, scratching his ear.

Suddenly, a blonde young woman, a black-haired young man, a white-haired young man, and a brown-haired young woman came out from the trees as they all faced the students afterwards, leaving the said students in slight surprise.

"Hello students." The blonde woman stepped forward and smiled politely at them, before introducing herself "My name is Hannah Kyrielight, I am the leader of Team HAZY, as well as your upperclassman and a fourth-year student."

Hannah was a beautiful young woman as she was now at twenty years of age, to which she has long blonde hair that reaches down her waist with long bangs that frame her forehead and two pink hair clips on both sides of it, vibrant sky blue eyes and a fair complexion. She has a rather average height, with a slightly well-developed physique, especially on her chest and waist.

The young woman was wearing an altered version of her female Beacon Academy school uniform, as the blazer and waistcoat are infused with energy dust and are dark purple in color, a black aura-infused durable dress shirt that's immune to bullets and projectiles, replaces the red ribbon for a somewhat large yellow one for decoration purposes, a dark gray skirt that's also infused with energy dust, and glowing white thigh-high boots made of aura and dust to enhance speed.

"I hope we get along very fine." She closed her eyes and bowed politely "Especially in the future."

"She seems friendly enough so far." Weiss muttered under her breath.

"Yo, what's up." The black-haired man waved and grinned "The name's Aidan Russell, member of Team HAZY, and Hannah's partner."

Aidan was also as old as his partner, as he has short messy black hair, light brown eyes and a slightly fair complexion. The young man had a lean build, with bits of muscle on his arms, as well as being slightly taller than Ryoma.

He was wearing a dark brown long coat that's buttoned up over a white undershirt, black pants slightly infused with fire dust, and dark gray combat boots. He also wore black fingerless gloves and carries a gray satchel filled with fire dust.

"If any of you got any questions to ask," He smirked, pointing a thumb at himself and his team "Don't hesitate to ask either of us."

No one decided to ask any questions nor raise their hands, as the white-haired young man stepped forward and introduced himself next.

"My name is Yukio Kaneki, I am a member of Team HAZY." He introduced himself in a stoic manner "It is a pleasure to meet all of you here today."

Yukio was also as old as his team, as he has shoulder-length white hair tied into a ponytail with his bangs covering his right eye, which were icy blue in color and a slightly pale complexion. The young man was slightly shorter than his fellow male teammate, as well as having a lean, yet slim build.

He was wearing an icy blue zip up sleeveless long hoodie over a white long-sleeved undershirt, black trousers and light gray combat boots. He also wore a belt that carried dust pouches and crystals and throwing knives.

"I hope that all of us will be on good terms." The man said, a ghost of a smile tugging at his lips.

"Hello there!" The last member waved energetically at the students "My name's Zanna Blau, member of Team HAZY!"

Zanna was as old as the rest of the team, as she has long brown hair that is tied into twin tails, azure blue eyes and a fair complexion. She had an average build, with a modest bust and slightly toned legs.

She was wearing a sky blue suit-like top with a light trim and large cuffs, a white dress shirt with red tie, a dark blue short skirt with a large beige sash holding the top and skirt together, and black knee-high boots with dark green thigh-high stockings.

"It's nice to see all of you today!" The young woman said, grinning excitedly.

"We shall start your training now." As those words left Minako's lips from far behind the students, mirrors appear in the sky as they were aimed at the students with white glows. She giggled mischievously and said "Good luck, kohai~!"

Needless to say, all hell broke loose for the first-year students gathered.

* * *

 **Emerald Forest**

 **Yukino and Ruby**

"Is this the area?" The crimsonette asked, looking at the other girl.

"Yes." She answered simply, stopping as both of them had reached their destination.

As if on cue, a loud explosion and dozens of students screaming were heard from the distance, prompting the two to the source of what they just heard.

"Was that-" Ruby was cut off by having her mouth covered by Yukino's hand.

"Don't think too much about it." The white-haired girl said evenly, releasing her hand "Whatever they are going through, just hope that Kiyoshi and Shun will be able to handle the training."

"O-Okay then." She nodded in acceptance, but looked back one more time as a thought entered her mind.

 _"I hope those two will make it out fine, especially Kiyoshi."_ The girl blushed when her partner's name came into her mind.

"Let us get started." The wolf faunus handed out a Five-Seven pistol "Unless you want to keep thinking about your boyfriend." she smirked when she said that.

"B-Boyfriend!?" The silver-eyed girl was snapped out of her thoughts as she spluttered with her face turning red "G-Give me that!" she grabbed the pistol and made her way towards a spot where she could see every target in sight "L-Let's just start already!"

Miyazaki shook her head in amusement as she looked at the source of the explosion, with a thought entering her mind as the male members of her team came to mind.

 _"Honestly, I do hope that the boys will make it out unharmed."_ She shook her head again afterwards, before making her way towards the other girl, as the latter was already at a bad start with her shooting.

However, she would not be aware of the pain that would be soon inflicted on her partner.

* * *

 **Emerald Forest**

 **The Students**

"Keep fucking running!" Ryoma roared, as he avoided another explosion.

"Ya don't have to remind us!" Shin growled, turning left to avoid another one.

Cardin, Dove, Sky and Jaune were running in a different area as Jedrek was watching over them with a surprisingly calculating expression.

"Blow him up." He snapped his fingers, to which the Winchester was the first unlucky victim of his explosion semblance.

The upperclassman looked at his other two members, a mischievous smirk forming on his lips.

"Blow him up." The dark silver-haired boy was next one "Blow him up.", followed by his partner, leaving only the blonde Arc.

 _"Should I spare him?"_ He thought about sparing the poor boy for a moment, before shaking his head with a small chuckle _"Nah, I'll blow his ass up too."_

He snaps his fingers and proceeds to blow up the blonde knight, as he was immediately sent flying with a girly scream escaping him afterwards.

"Hey! Look at fearless leader go!" Nora cheerfully pointed at the boy flying towards a tree.

"I pity him." Ren muttered under his breath, trying to keep up with his energetic best friend.

"Damn, this is too much." Ajax gritted his teeth, avoiding the explosions, along with Russel and Marty.

As if fate responded to his words, the black-haired wolf faunus stepped on a tripwire and ends up getting caught in a net, leaving the other two in surprise.

"Whoa!" The spiky-haired boy was caught off guard by the trap, only to step on a wire himself, with an explosion going off afterwards.

The mohawk boy also ended up stepping on the wires, with the same results as the first boy, as he was blown away from the area.

"Shit!" He activated his aura onto his eyes, as he looked around his surroundings from inside the net.

His eyes widen in shock as his aura detected wires set up around the area _"These wires are covered in aura, is that why I can't see them normally."_

From the distance, Yui chuckled as she sat on a tree branch, watching the hellish training from afar.

She was wearing a dark gray blazer over a white dress shirt that's not tucked in, both of them have their sleeves rolled up to her elbows, a crimson red plaid skirt, and black leather knee-high boots with dark gray socks of the same length. She has two spools of wires on the sides of her hips, strapped by a dark brown leather belt, and wears two purple hair ties on her right wrist, along with black long studded fingerless gloves on both hands.

 _"I didn't think that Jedrek would ask me, of all people, to help him with his semblance."_ She thought, nibbling on her pocky stick as eyes were set on Kiyoshi and Ezra _"I think I'll go talk to them over there, and bring Daisy too so she can talk to that guy over there."_ with those thoughts, she leaped off the tree and proceeded to find her best friend and partner.

 _*MEANWHILE*_

"T-This is too much!" Lily cried, panicking as she was still on Kiara's back, with the latter in a one-sided battle against Yukio and Zanna.

The white-haired young man wordlessly creates another snowstorm, while his partner used bits of wind from her aura to spread the snow around the area.

 _"Dammit, they're too strong."_ The raven-haired girl gritted her teeth, avoid the attacks.

Other first-year students weren't faring better either, as Valerie struggles to land a single hint on Amelia, with the latter constantly holding back, much to the former's growing frustration.

"Your determination is quite noteworthy, Stark." The magenta-haired beauty noted, deflecting another attack from the younger girl's sword with her long spear.

"I'm ... not ... gonna ... give up!" The short-haired girl panted as she narrowed her eyes in determination, preparing to move again.

Weiss and Blake are completely at Minako's mercy, as the latter's mirror beams kept the two from distancing themselves from her.

"Drat!" The heiress cursed, summoning another glyph to block another mirror beam "These attacks just keep coming!"

"Tell me about." The hidden faunus said dryly, attempting to attack the four-tailed faunus, only to hit another mirror "Her semblance isn't one to underestimate."

"Fufufu! I'll take that as a compliment." The fox faunus chuckled, summoning another mirror "I hope both of you can endure my lovely mirrors."

Ren and Nora attempted to double team Cyrus, but the latter's endless barrage of sun-based attacks kept the two at a distance, with a sunlight barrier preventing them from physically attacking him.

"Both of you have endured my semblance so far." The golden-armored man commented, firing another attack from his spear, with the barrier growing brighter.

"We'll never give up!" The ginger-haired girl shouted, grinning determinedly "Let's go!"

Her partner nodded as both of them moved to attack their upperclassman again, with the same results coming in afterwards.

Pyrrha, Cayden and Magnar were struggling to land hits against the attacks from Hannah and Aidan.

"Comrades! Do not falter!" The bull faunus shouted, only to get blinded by another light-based attack from the blonde.

The silver-haired boy had trouble aiming at the black-haired man, as the latter constantly moved and leaped around, making fire glyphs that cause explosions upon impact.

"I have never had a battle like this before." The redhead mused, going on the offensive towards the young woman.

A chuckle escaped her as she said "That's because you've never went up against an exorcist before." she dodged her underclassman's attack as she continued "You require more training and a few years of experience, before going up against my partner and I."

"You're certainly not wrong about that." The Mistralian smiled, holding up her spear "But like what Magnar had said a while ago, I will not falter in my attacks."

Smiling back, the blonde young woman said "I look forward to your next move."

"Fire glyph bitch!" Her partner shouted, grinning wildly as his fire gauntlet hand creates another fire glyph, catching the tanned boy in another explosion.

"I shall provide assistance, comrade!" The large teen moved forward, swinging his sword.

He ended up hitting another fire glyph, causing yet another explosion.

Rika, Riley and Shizuka were struggling to dodge fast arrows from another upperclassman.

"Where are these arrows coming from!" The purple-haired girl shouted fearfully "Riley-kun, do you know their name!?"

The grey-haired boy deflected an arrow with his weapon in combat knife mode, before saying "The one attacking us is named Orion Jackson, a member of Team KOMK."

"Where is he!?" The blue-haired girl cried, moving to avoid another arrow.

From the distance, a long brown-haired boy in his late teens chuckled in amusement, firing another arrow.

"I wonder where Momo has gone to?" He mused, preparing to fire another arrow.

Orion was a third-year student, as he has long brown hair that flowed freely as it reached mid-back, sea green eyes and a slightly tanned complexion. He has a lean and muscular build, most notably on his arms with a long brown horse's tail from his behind.

He was wearing an archaic style of dress, that are clad with brown leather armor, along with some on his arms and legs that are white in color, and dark brown sandals.

 _"I'll fire more arrows for some good measure, before I go find her."_ The horse faunus thought, firing three more arrows at once, before stopping as he decided to go find his partner.

Meanwhile, Ajax manages to free himself from the net as he hits the ground with a loud thud.

"Surprise!" Kuniaki comes from out of nowhere to attack him, forcing the first-year to jump back.

The upperclassman was wearing a black long coat over a white dress shirt, dark gray pants, and grey combat boots. He was also wearing black fingerless gloves and brown aviator goggles on his head. The smiling boy was wielding dual light blue swords, with a brown leather belt around his pants that contain throwing knives.

"Brace yourself!" Kaede fired dust rounds from her sniper rifle, forcing the wolf faunus to dodge.

"Nice shot, Kaede-chan!" The older boy smiled at his partner and leader.

She was wearing a dark green blazer over a white dress shirt and a maroon waistcoat with a red necktie, a dark gray skirt with black shorts underneath, and brown combat boots with black socks.

"Do I have to go up against the two of you?" The younger boy asked, slowly pulling out his sword as he took a few steps back.

"Ozpin-sensei gave us the task." His upperclassman nodded, his smile turning into a smirk as he took a few steps forward "So both of us will gladly fullfill it!"

"Don't worry, we'll make sure to hold back." The blonde girl said reassuringly, preparing to aim her sniper rifle again.

With that, the lone first-year student engaged in a difficult fight against two third-year students.

Meanwhile, the two boys are still avoiding Jedrek's explosions, all while competing against each other, however ...

"Shit!" Shin curses, accidentally stepping on a wire.

But before he would be engulfed in an aura explosion, Ryoma pulls him out of the explosion's range as both of them hit the ground, completely unharmed.

As soon as both of them stood up, the possession semblance user was surprised that the wind user would save them despite the competition they're currently having.

"You ... saved me?" The boy asked, furrowing his brows.

"Of course I did, moron." The taller boy smirked, reaching out his hand "I know both of us didn't really get along when we ran earlier, but now, I think you're pretty cool." his expression turned genuinely friendly as he continued "What do you say, bro?"

He stared at his hand for a few seconds before Shun takes over and gives him the same expression as he responds with "Alright then, bro.", they shook hands as both boys decide to become bros afterwards.

Unfortunately, the reddish-haired boy failed to notice that he was standing on a timed aura bomb that's about to explode, something that the brown-haired boy noticed.

In an instant, he pushed his new bro out of the way, with the latter staring at him in confusion.

"Good luck, bro." The boy whispered, before an aura explosion engulfs him.

Widening his eyes in shock, Yukimura gathered his senses and shouted "Brooooooo!"

After a few seconds, the dust cleared as the slightly shorter boy was on the ground, unconscious as his expression was surprisingly serene.

"Fuck! I'll get you out of here, bro!" He grabbed Fujimori's legs, and began dragging him, with the intention of putting him somewhere safe.

Nearby, Dove and Sky were carrying an unconscious Russel, having the same idea as they were walking slowly, but surely.

The explosion semblance user was watching them from the distance as he shook his head in amusement "It hasn't been three hours, and the two of them are already getting along and becoming bros." he smirked as he said that.

"I got ya bro!" The tall boy dragged his unconscious bro across the training grounds (hell), while the three members of Team CRDL exploded right in front of them by their upperclassman's semblance.

Meanwhile, Ezra and Kiyoshi were blankly watching them nearby as they collectively sweatdropped at the duo's newfound antics as bros.

"They have certainly gotten along rather quickly, don't you think?" The black-haired boy said, chuckling slightly.

"I expected them to get along right after the run though." The creation semblance user nodded, his expression rarely changing.

"Hey you two!" The two boys turned their heads to see Yui waving at them with a wide and friendly grin, with Daisy smiling timidly from behind.

"Hello ladies." The Schnee butler bowed politely at them "What can the both of us do for you?"

"Eh, I let Jedrek use my garrote wires for his semblance." The dog faunus shrugged, approaching them with her best friend following from behind "Plus, Ren and Saku are out looking for Ruby and that Yukino girl to talk to them about things."

"I would assume that this 'Ren' and 'Saku' are your other teammates, correct?" The now blank-faced teen asked, to which the two girls nodded in confirmation.

"Rentaro Haruna is our leader, while Sakuya Rai is his partner." The peach-haired girl clarified, smiling kindly at the two boys.

"Dais, you can talk to him," The brown-haired girl pushed her partner towards the butler, while she herself approaches the white-haired boy "While I talk to him."

"What do you wish to talk about, Miss Hickey?" Ezra asked, smiling kindly.

"W-Well ..." The buxom medic trailed off, blushing slightly.

"So, anything you'd like to share about that semblance of yours?" Kaname questioned, looking very curious.

"Only if you would share what you know about your garrote wire first." Nakamura said, crossing his arms.

She seemed to think about it for a moment before responded "Sure, plus I'll even share how I got here and where I came from."

"I have no complaints." He shrugged nonchalantly, sitting on the ground, to which the older girl sat down as well.

Meanwhile, Lily and Kiara still struggle to fend off against Yukio and Zanna's assault of attacks from their semblances.

"W-What do we do!?" The rabbit faunus stammered, still clinging onto the older girl for dear life.

"We escape!" She answered, gritting her teeth.

As if in response to her words, purple smoke comes from out of nowhere as it blinded all four students.

"Come on." A couple of hands pull the two out of the blinding fog, leaving the two upperclassmen behind.

When the two girls regain their sight afterwards, they see that it was Seto and Fei that pulled them away from who they were currently fighting.

"Seto Kyrielight, right?" The brown-haired girl asked, slowly getting off the ravenette.

"Yup, I'm the leader of Team SFRN." Seto pointed a thumb at himself, and then to his friend "This is Fei Mori, he's also a member of my team."

He was wearing the same purple cloak over a black long-sleeved shirt, grey trousers, and dark brown boots, as well as dark gray gloves with triangular glyph symbols on the back of it's hands, a light grey belt that carries various dust pouches and a combat knife, and carries a thick book that's similar to his underclassman's.

"Nice to meet you two." Fei bowed politely, smiling.

The green-haired boy was wearing a dark green sleeveless hoodie over a light grey undershirt, dark gray trousers, and a black combat boots, as well as black fingerless gloves, a dark brown belt filled with throwing knives in various sizes and two twin daggers, and a dark grey satchel over his right shoulder.

"Why did you pull us away from our opponents?" The cat faunus asked, her brows furrowing.

"We've seen your initiation," The purple cloaked boy said, crossing his arms "We're quite curious of your abilities."

"Is that so?" The petite girl smiled timidly, looking at the much taller girl "Should we?"

She shrugged nonchalantly and said "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to show them what we can do."

* * *

 **Emerald Forest**

 **Yukino and Ruby**

"Shoot!" The crimsonette cursed, missing yet another target.

"You really are bad at this, aren't you?" The white-haired girl commented, walking up to the other girl.

"I'm sorry about that." She blushed, rubbing her arm sheepishly "I don't know why I'm so bad at this."

"Is there any reason as to why is it like that?" The wolf faunus asked, now standing next to her.

"W-Well ..." Ruby tried to come up with an explanation, but then sighed and said "It's just, whenever I try to properly aim, my mind just ... wanders somewhere all of the sudden.", she began to tighten her grip on the gun in her hand, all while slowly gritting her teeth.

"I see," Yukino nodded, her voice becoming gentle as she said "Then why don't you take those thoughts out and focus solely on aiming."

"I'm trying to!" The slightly shorter girl snapped, now clutching the handgun very tightly "But my mind just won't let me, even during the first time we interacted at the very first day!", a thought then crossed her mind _"Not counting the fact that I was inexperienced in firing from such a distance."_

That didn't stop the other girl from putting a comforting hand on her shoulder as a strange instinct took over as she spoke "Take a deep breath and calm yourself."

After a few seconds, her teammate heeded her words and slowly calmed herself down as she took in a few deep breaths, though she still held a tight grip on the handgun.

"I want you to focus solely on the target," She said gently, letting go of the girl's shoulder "But let your mind focus on more positive thoughts, rather than the negative ones." a small thought then formed on her mind _"Considering the tone she used earlier about it, I assume that it would be negative thoughts that's holding her back."_

"I-I'll try then." The silver-eyed girl went to focus the pistol on the target, trying to make aiming her sole focus, but ends up having endless thoughts entering her mind as she did.

 _"What's wrong? Can't hit a target to save your life?"_

 _"I bet you're as weak as your crippled sister."_

 _"Aww, little Rose about to cry~!."_

 _"Ha! You couldn't even protect your own stupid brother!"_

 _"What kind of a little sister are you, huh!?"_

 _"Shut up."_ She said in her thoughts, trying to dispel the negative thoughts forming in her mind, her eyes slowly becoming watery and red.

Her grip on the gun was now shaky, with her mind was sprouting more brutal and hurtful comments than the ones she previously had at the first day of Beacon.

 _"You're even worse than the Grimm itself!"_

 _"Why couldn't you just die along with your idiot brother."_

 _"You don't deserve to have such a loving family."_

 _"I think you should just kill yourself for all I care."_

 _"Weak. That's who you really are!"_

 _"Shut up!"_ Ruby nearly shouted out loud, tears going down her eyes as she practically began to insult herself with every negative thought.

Before she would emotionally break herself down, she felt her leader slowly hugging her from behind as she heard her whisper "I'm here for you, just take another deep breath and think of the more positive thoughts from your mind."

The silver-eyed girl did just that, and began racking her mind for more positive thoughts, to which a memory pops up.

 _*FLASHBACK*_

The fifteen year old girl was currently in her own room, packing her things as she picked up her scroll to contact one particular person, since they were in Vale.

After a few seconds, a familiar voice spoke from the scroll itself "Hello?"

"I got accepted into Beacon early, Yang." Ruby said quietly, sitting down beside her bed.

"Really? That's great to hear sis!" Yang answered happily on the other side of the call.

"You're not mad, right?" The younger girl asked, her brows furrowing slightly.

"Mad? Why would I be mad?" The older girl said incredulously "You just got accepted into Beacon Academy, two years early!"

 _"I don't know if that's anything to brag about when I actually get there."_ She thought, shaking her head as she spoke again "Is there anything I should do, since I'm going to have to stay there for four years."

"Well ..." The crimsonette could feel her sister grinning "You could always try to make some friends there, Luke isn't gonna go with you after all."

"I know that." She sighed, bringing her knees to her chest "But it would be hard to find someone as understanding as Luke was to me at Signal."

"Nah, I'm sure you'll meet lots of great people there at Beacon." Her sister said encouragingly "But if they're gonna be like the ones at Signal, then I'll beat them up myself."

"Please don't." Ruby said quietly, sighing again "Anyway, I called you just to tell you this alright, so I have go now."

"One more thing, before you go Rubes." The younger girl decided to hear what her sister had to say "I want you to be happy, which is why I'm telling you to at least make more than one friend at Beacon, okay?"

With what she said, the silver-eyed girl went quiet for a while before saying "Sure, I'll try my best."

"That's the spirit!" Yang said proudly, before shouting out "Watch out Beacon Academy! My baby sis is going to knock your socks off with her awesome skills!"

"Thank you." She muttered under her breath, ending the call as she stood up and continued to pack her things.

But somewhere deep down, the girl felt a swell of happiness growing in her chest when her sister was genuinely proud of her for getting into Beacon Academy early, especially her last words before she ended the call.

 _*END FLASHBACK*_

 _"Yang."_ Ruby thought, feeling some of the negative thoughts go away as another memory popped up in her mind.

 _*FLASHBACK*_

"I guess this is it." The crimsonette muttered, standing near the front door as she moved to open it.

However, she was immediately hugged from behind before she opened the door, to which she turned around to see Taiyang smiling warmly at her, with a few tears coming from his eyes as he pulled away.

"Words can't express how proud I am of you getting into Beacon Academy at your age." The blonde said, wiping a few tears from his eyes as he and his daughter were standing in front of each other, face to face.

"Thank you, dad." She looked down on the floor, before turning around "I have to go now."

"But before you leave." The girl stopped in her tracks again, as she turned around to see her father pull out a familiar emblem from his one of his pockets.

He smiled at his daughter and said "I want you to keep this." a silver rose emblem was on his hand as he presented it to her "It was your mother's before she passed away, but I want you to have this, so you can have something to remember her by during your stay."

After hearing what he had said, the girl could only stare at the emblem in his hand for a few seconds, as a single tear went down in her right eye.

Putting her hand on her father's, she had taken the emblem and stared at it again before saying "Mom." she looked up to see her father again before saying "Thank you."

With those words, the silver-eyed girl decided to embrace her father herself, to which he returned the gesture as they hugged for what it felt like an eternity.

 _*END FLASHBACK*_

 _"Dad."_ Ruby thought, now closing her eyes as more and more negative thoughts were going away, with one more memory coming up in her mind.

 _*FLASHBACK*_

It was very late at night, as the silver-eyed girl was outside the door of her best and only friend's house to pick up some things from him.

"Here you go, Rubes." Luke smiled, handing the box to his best friend.

"Thank you." The girl accepted it, to which she puts it in one of her bags afterwards.

"I guess this is goodbye for now, huh?" He said, his smile becoming a bit sad "I'm gonna miss you, you know?."

"Me too." She nodded, looking away slightly "I'm going to miss your biscuits."

The boy actually chuckled at that, pulling out a small paper from his right pocket as he presented it to her "Here you go."

In response, the crimsonette actually widened her eyes in surprise as she looked at the paper in his hand before asking "Why?"

"That's because I know how much you love to bake." The sandy blonde-haired teen explained "So here."

She stared at him and then the paper for a few seconds, before taking it and placing it inside her bag.

"Good luck at Beacon." Luke encouraged, now grinning "Show them who's boss!"

"I shall try my best then." The girl admitted, rubbing at her arm "I have to go now."

But after she turned around, her friend immediately hugged her from behind as he whispered into her ear "I'm really going to miss you, it'll be very lonely without you."

"Thank you." She whispered back, looking at the ground as she thought _"I'll make sure to visit you as soon as I can when the first semester ends."_

 _*END FLASHBACK*_

 _"Luke."_ Ruby thought, opening her eyes as all of the negative thoughts are now completely out of her mind _"Thank you, everyone."_

Gone was the previously shaking and frustrated girl, as a look of pure concentration and total focus took over, especially with her mind now solely focusing on the target.

Miyazaki bore witness to it herself and had a small smile as she said "Now, focus on the target and shoot."

Hearing her leader's words loud and clear, the crimsonette narrowed her eyes in focus, to which she pulled the trigger and ...

.

.

.

... managed to shoot down the target, much to her own shock and surprise.

"I did it." She whispered to herself, processing what she just did.

"Yes, you certainly did." The white-haired girl said in a gentle tone.

It took a few seconds for the silver-eyed girl to notice that the other girl was still hugging her, much to her embarrassment as she blushed.

"Do you want me to release you?" The wolf faunus asked, to which the girl nodded slowly in response.

Releasing herself from the slightly shorter girl, she said "How about we just talk here for the rest of this time instead."

After a few seconds of staying quiet, Ruby nodded again with the blush still plastered onto her pale face as both of them sat down.

"I must admit, you seemed quite focused after I told you to think of only positive thoughts." Yukino said, bringing her knees to her chest "I will not ask what the thoughts are though."

"Well, I had certain people on my mind." She said, looking up into the sky.

"Honestly, I was quite curious as to how you were moved to tears after only a few minutes." The ice user admitted, looking at her teammate.

"I had ... thoughts that I prefer to not speak about." The crimsonette said, looking away from her leader slightly.

"Very well then," The wolf faunus nodded in understanding "I will not pry into your thoughts, until you are ready that is."

In response, the other girl looked at her for second before muttering "Thank you."

As if on cue, two figures loudly stepped out of the bushes, prompting the two girls to immediately be on guard as they pulled out their weapons and prepared to use their semblances and aura.

"Whoa!" One of the figures, a male one, raised his arms in surrender "We're not gonna attack you, promise!"

"Are you ... by any chance the upperclassmen that Headmaster Ozpin had introduced earlier?" Ruby stepped forward, lowering her weapons.

"Yup!" He smiled before introducing himself "My name's Rentaro Haruna, the leader of Team RYDR." the older boy then introduced the other figure, a female one "This is Sakuya Rai, also a member of my team, as well as my partner."

"Is there any reason as to why you two are here?" Miyazaki asked, lowering her weapons as well.

"Both of us are simply here to converse, since our team was merely assigned to clear out Grimm in the Emerald Forest." Sakuya answered in a monotone voice.

The two girls looked at each other and then their upperclassmen, to which the silver-eyed girl spoke first "What do you two wish to talk about?"

"Eh, just some random things." Rentaro shrugged nonchalantly.

With that, the four students somewhat began chatting with each other.

* * *

 **Emerald Forest**

 **Ezra, Daisy, Yui and Kiyoshi**

"You work for the Schnee family?" The buxom medic asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Yes, I do." The Schnee butler responded, nodding "Weiss Schnee, the current heiress of the SDC, had been my best friend and mistress, ever since we were children."

"That's good to hear." Daisy said, smiling politely.

"What about you, Miss Hickey?" Ezra asked curiously "Surely, you would have things to share about yourself."

"Well ..." She said, twiddling her thumbs "Did Yui tell you about how old I was when I first enrolled in Beacon?"

"Of course, you were fifteen at the time, correct?" The boy asked, needing some confirmation.

"Yes, I was." The girl nodded in response "My father was the reason why I enrolled at Beacon two years early."

Unbeknownst to her, the black-haired boy somewhat narrowed his eyes at how she said the word 'father'.

"He continuously recommended me to the headmaster, until he finally complied and accepted me into Beacon at fifteen." The peach-haired girl explained, looking at the ground "I didn't understand why, since I have no abilities in fighting."

"But I'm sure that your skills as a medic would compensate for it." The electrokinesis semblance user said in an encouraging tone.

"You have a point, but there are times where I feel like I'm nothing but a burden to my teammates, especially Yui." Daisy admitted sadly, bringing her knees to her chest.

"Don't think like that," Ezra said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder "I'm sure your best friend would tell you that you are not a burden."

She turned to him and said "You really think so?"

"Yes I do." He nodded at her, smiling politely as he did "Plus, I do believe that your skills as a medic are a huge contribution to your team."

The buxom medic blushed when he said those words, before stuttering "T-T-Thank you."

Meanwhile, Yui was finishing a description of her garrote wires to Kiyoshi, who seemed to be listening intently.

"I see then, you use wires to set traps and barriers against the Grimm, rather than fighting them head on." The white-haired boy said, his interest piqued.

"That's pretty much the gist of it, yeah." The dog faunus' expression seemed to turn solemn as she said "Promise not to judge me when I share where I came from and how I got here."

The creation semblance user nodded, which gave her the signal to continue.

"I ... used to kill people ... for money." She began hesitantly, earning a slightly surprised look from her underclassman, to which she then continued "But not in the way you think, I promise!"

"Okay then, go on." The younger boy said reassuringly, allowing her to explain further.

"I have eight younger siblings and a mother that's in a hospital." The brown-haired girl said, looking at the ground "Our family had a very tight budget, the fact that we were discriminated for it didn't help either." she breathed in and then continued "Other jobs didn't let me work in them, just because I'm a faunus." she clenched her fists slightly as she said that "Assassination was the only job opening that wouldn't discriminate my faunus nature, so ... I decided to take it, for the sake of providing for my family."

In response, the boy had a very solemn expression as he seemed to be in deep thought.

 _"Her past is almost similar as ..."_ His thoughts trailed off as he shook his head _"No, I shouldn't think about the past now, especially when I'm a huntsmen-in-training."_

"Honestly, I pretty much hated the job I took, since I had to kill people." Kaname let out a slightly bitter laugh "But, I needed the money so my family can at least live a better life, so I never complained about it and just followed their orders, until I decided to enroll in Beacon to get away from my old job, before they would order me to kill innocent people."

"I assume that they haven't found you yet, correct?" Nakamura asked, with a somewhat concerned expression.

"No, they haven't." She said in a reassuring tone, shaking her head "At least they never found out where my family lived, otherwise I would've let myself die protecting them."

"I see ..." The boy trailed off, not having any other words to say, leaving an awkward silence between the two.

"Okay!" The brown-haired faunus laughed awkwardly, trying to break the silence "Let's just talk about other things now, is that alright with you?"

"That is fine with me." The white-haired boy nodded in agreement.

* * *

 **Emerald Forest**

 **Lily, Kiara, Seto and Fei**

"You're a dust mage as well?" The petite girl asked her upperclassmen.

"Yup, watch this." The purple-cloaked boy created a purple flame in his hand with his aura.

"Whoa!" Lily was awed by what she was seeing, as well as somewhat curious.

"Are you here because of your skills too?" Seto asked, letting the flame go out in his hand.

In response, she rubbed her arm sheepishly as she said "It's not really a big deal to me, since there are other students that are the same age as me, and I think they're even more skilled than me."

"Hey, don't think like that." The curly-haired boy placed a comforting hand on his underclassman's shoulder "Why don't you show off some of your skills."

"O-Oh!" The rabbit faunus was surprised by what he suggested, before saying "O-Okay then."

With that, she stepped into position as she raised her right hand in the air, closing her eyes as she did.

After a few seconds, a mint green circular glyph appeared in the sky and another one below her feet, with the latter one slowly lifting her up in the air, due to her size and small appearance.

"Damn, that's awesome!" The older boy grinned, prompting the much younger girl to stop as her feet slowly return to the ground, all while blushing madly.

"D-Do you really think so?" Lily asked timidly, twiddling her thumbs "I-I don't think it was that great."

"Okay seriously," Seto stood up and walked towards her "You really need to give yourself some credit there, since I'm pretty sure that your leader sees you as a great member to her team."

"I don't know about that." The petite girl shook her head sadly "I don't want to slow down my team, since I'm not a fighter like the rest of them, especially Ryoma."

"Listen, I gotta tell you this." He crouched down to her height, and spoke in a gentle tone "I used to be just like you before in my first year here in Beacon, but I didn't let that stop me from leading my team and training to be a huntsman overall." he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder "So tell me, are you going to stop yourself from becoming a great huntress and member to your team."

The girl was taken back by his words for a couple of seconds, before nodding greatly and suddenly shouting out "No! I won't!", with a few tears coming out of her eyes as she did.

"That's more like it." The purple cloaked boy stood straight and smiled at her "Mind if I give you a few tips on your skills."

"Yes, senpai!" She bowed politely, only to realize what she had just called the older boy, to which she faces him with a huge blush and says "I'm sorry!", much to the boy's amusement as he chuckled lightly in response.

Meanwhile, the two other students were also conversing, with some rather interesting topics.

"You rely on speed as well?" The ravenette asked the androgynous boy.

"Yes, I do." He nodded, smiling as he rubbed the back of his head "Though my semblance would only activate when I fight alongside with my twin sister, Rei."

"You ... have a twin?" Kiara asked hesitantly, her brows furrowing.

"Yeah, but she's back at the school with Neron." Fei answered, smiling "Why do you ask?"

"It's nothing." She turned away from him slightly _"Plus, it's personal."_

"Nonsense, you can tell me what's on your mind." The green-haired boy said, with his hands on his hips.

"I'm sorry, but I can't." Her tone was slightly harsh, before thinking _"It's not like you and your sister know about my current relationship with **her**."_

"If you're not willing to share, then it's fine with me." He nodded in understanding "After all, every-"

An explosion cut him off, as both students and Seto and Lily turned to the source.

"What the?" The cat faunus muttered under her breath.

* * *

 **Emerald Forest**

 **The Students**

"Bro! Speak to me!" Ryoma pounded his fist many times into Shun's chest "Don't head into the light, bro!"

"Are you trying to add more to his unconscious state?" Kiyoshi asked dryly, walking up to the taller boy.

"Shut up! You don't know about our bond!" The older boy yelled at the younger one.

"Your 'bond' has only been for a single hour, Mister Yukimura." Ezra said in an equally dry tone, standing next to the shorter boy.

"Ugh! Not you too!" The reddish-haired boy groaned, putting his hand onto his face "Also, just call me Ryoma! Mister Yukimura is a name that people call my dad or whatever."

The white-haired boy took the time to look around, to which he noticed that most of his fellow first-year students have been defeated by their upperclassmen in some ways.

Jaune, Marty and Team CRDL as a whole were already taken out by their upperclassman's explosion semblance.

 _"Heh, those freshmen have no idea what's going to come next."_ Jedrek smiled to himself in amusement.

"I can't feel my everything." The spiky-haired boy groaned from the ground.

"Yeah." The blonde knight also groaned, struggling to get himself out of the tree.

Valerie had been outmatched by Amelia, with the latter looking at the former with a calculating expression.

"Your movements are swift, yet precise." The magenta-haired beauty commented "However, you rely too much on her semblance and leave yourself open every time you stop."

"N-Noted." She weakly said from the ground.

Weiss and Blake have been knocked out by the four-tailed faunus, with their eyes becoming swirly.

"Fufufu! Your efforts are quite commendable, kohai~." Minako chuckled, allowing her mirrors to disappear.

Groans of pain were her response from the two knocked out girls.

Ren and Nora were in the same page as the previous two, but to a lesser extent as the former is barely conscious, while the latter is giggling uncontrollably with her eyes also reduced to swirls.

"The battle has been decided." Cyrus allowed the barrier to disappear "Both of you have fought valiantly, but require more training."

"I-I understand." The black-haired boy weakly said, struggling to stand up.

Pyrrha had her aura utterly drained, to the point of great exhaustion, while Cayden and Magnar have been taken out of the fight at some point by Aidan.

"I wish to spar with you anytime." Hannah said, smiling as her aura was still flaring from her body.

"I-I share the same sentiment." The redhead said weakly, sitting up.

"Damn, those two managed to tank my hits for a while there." The blonde's partner noted, pointing his thumb at the two underclassmen on the ground.

Rika and Shizuka were also knocked out with their eyes becoming swirly, while Riley leaned against a tree, clutching at his left arm.

 _"I didn't expect that the last three arrows would finish us like that."_ The grey-haired boy mused, before noticing a little girl staring at him with an unreadable expression.

After a few seconds, she spoke up "Are you just going to sit there and stare at me without introducing yourself."

Realizing what he just did, the boy blinked twice and then decided to introduce himself "Riley White, member of Team SAVR."

That seemed to be enough for the girl as she introduced herself "Momo Aikawa, member of Team KOMK.", the boy's eyes widened in shock upon hearing the introduction, knowing that the team she mentioned was a third-year one.

Momo was also a third-year student (much to the boy's confusion and shock), as she has long purple hair that reached her waist with hime-styled bangs and fluffy cat ears, dark green eyes and a fair complexion. Despite being a third-year student, she had the appearance of an eight-year old child with a very petite figure.

She was wearing a light purple fluffy hoodie with cat ears over a dark purple t-shirt, a light grey skirt, and brown boots with black tights. The girl also wore a dark brown belt around her skirt with pouches of various sizes, a plain white backpack behind her back, and carries a light mauve cat plush toy in her arms.

Overall, the girl was very cute and innocent as the boy looking at her loses his composed expression.

 _"C-C-Cute."_ He thought, with a light blush on his cheeks.

"Momo, there are you are." Orion came into the scene, shaking his head as a approached her.

"Hello Orion." Momo said quietly, hugging her plush toy close to her chest.

Meanwhile, Ajax had been utterly defeated by the two third-year students against him, as he was on the ground with his eyes reduced to swirls.

"I think your semblance activated by itself again." Kaede said to her partner, placing the sniper rifle behind her back.

"Hehe, I apologize for that, Ajax-kun." Kuniaki apologized, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"Ugh." The younger boy could only groan as a response.

As if on cue, Ozpin had entered the scene with an amused expression as he said "Students, your training has only just begun." he smiled wryly as he continued "I do believe that you have until dawn to complete the training.

"..." There was complete silence among the first-year students, with the ones knocked out waking up in time to hear the news themselves.

.

.

.

"WHAT!?" Most of them shout in horror, except Kiyoshi and Ezra, as both of them simply widened their eyes in surprise.

This was going to be a **very** long day for the freshmen.

* * *

 **Beacon Cliff**

It was now dawn as most of the first-year students looked extremely exhausted, to the point where some of them would nearly die from it, with the exceptions of Yukino, Ruby, Lily and Kiara for obvious reasons.

The students were either covered in soot, had parts of their clothes torn and ripped, and obviously suffered from dozens of bruises and scratches.

"There ... goes ... my dignity." Weiss panted, being supported by Blake to keep her from falling to the ground.

"Well done students, I commend all of you for your endurance and durability throughout the entire training." Ozpin congratulated the students, a look of amusement plastered on his face, before turning to one of his former students "Yuna, would you please be a dear and escort them to the infirmary, they will have quite the weekend in there."

"Yes, headmaster." Yuna sighed, rolling her way to the students before saying "Everyone, follow me to the infirmary."

In response, the students complied and proceeded to follow the red-haired woman back to the school and campus.

"You know, I'm pretty sure that was a bit too far there." Kyosuke mused, giving the headmaster a sideways glance.

"I am aware of that." The silver-haired man's expression suddenly turned serious "They must be prepared for the threat at all costs, especially when Salem has yet to make a move."

The black-attired young man sighed in response, thinking _"Hopefully, all of teams should be capable of working together once they enter their second year."_

Meanwhile, as the students were heading back to the school and campus, Ryoma turned around to see Lily looking up into the sky with a surprisingly serious expression, as opposed to her usual timid ones.

"Hey!" He called out to her, snapping her out of her daze as she looked at him.

"C-Coming!" The petite girl picked up her pace, as she caught up with him and the other students.

Ruby was focusing on other things as her mind was swarmed with numerous thoughts.

 _"I think I'll put my mom's emblem on my belt."_ She thought, remembering the silver rose emblem given to her by her father _"At least, I can have constant reminder of her."_

Kiyoshi seemed to be in deep thought, as he was simply following the other students.

 _"Yui used to be an assassin before entering Beacon Academy."_ He mused thoughtfully _"I wonder if my team would look at me differently once I tell them about my past and my scars."_

He was unaware that his past would soon come after him and his new team, as he expresses his own concern regarding that said past.

 **To be continued ...**

 **I am so sorry if this chapter is a long one, school has been a major pain in the ass. The next one will be rather simple, as Ruby decides to find a part-time job ... as a maid.**

 **Introduced OCs: Minako, Cyrus, Jedrek, Amelia, Rentaro, Sakuya, Hannah, Aidan, Yukio, Zanna, Orion and Momo**

 **Next Chapter: Part-Time Maid**


	24. C16: Part-Time Maid

_**Okay! This chapter will focus on Ruby getting a part-time job ... as a maid. Some characters will return in this chapter, as well as new ones being introduced. I hope you leave a review after this chapter, and tell me what you think?**_

 _ **Onto the story~!**_

 **Beacon Academy**

Two weeks have passed after the first-year students received a taste in hell, most of their regular classes were uneventful, and the training periods were nothing, but pure hell for most of them.

Ruby Rose was currently in her dorm room, looking over her stuff as she was the only one inside today.

 _"I'm already out of snacks."_ She thought, pouting slightly _"Plus, I don't have the money to buy ingredients to make new ones."_

As if on cue, she was struck with an idea as she cupped her chin thoughtfully.

 _"Perhaps I should get a part-time job, but one that actually pays me."_ The crimsonette mused thoughtfully _"After all, the academy doesn't have any rules that prohibit me from getting one."_

With that idea in mind, the girl proceeded to pack up some of her things and wear actual work clothing, as she decides to get her own part-time job.

However, she had to make multiple job appointments first, while preparing clothing that she would need to wear when attending the many job interviews she made for herself.

 _"This may take an entire day to make these appointments on my own."_ She thought, dialing a number on her scroll _"But I hope that at least one job would pay me decently."_

Unbeknownst to her, she would get a job that would truly help her shed her usual outlook on most people.

* * *

 **Vale**

It was now Saturday, as Ruby headed into Vale by herself in search of a part-time job that would suit her.

 _"Now to search for a part-time job."_ She thought determinedly, stepping out of the bullhead _"Especially when I managed to get myself into six different job interviews."_

As she entered the city, the crimsonette searches around for available jobs that she would make as her part-time job.

The girl was wearing a black waistcoat over a white dress shirt and a grey necktie, a dark gray pencil skirt, and black business boots with gray thigh-high stockings. She also carried a backpack that contained her casual clothing just in case.

 _"Alright, since the rest of the team are in an outing with teams KLRE and SAVR, I'll have to do this all by myself."_ The silver-eyed girl thought to herself _"How would would it be to find a part-time job?"_

With those thoughts, she immediately regretted them as soon as she entered the first five job interviews.

Job No. 1: Store Clerk

"Can you sweep a floor?" The Shoekeeper asked, lacing his hands together.

"Yes." Ruby nodded in response "I do the chores back home in Patch, especially when dad is not around to do them."

"Then can you sweep the floors without payment?" The old man asked with a hopeful expression.

In response, the girl stared at him blanky.

Job No. 2: Librarian

"Is there anything I can-" She was immediately silenced.

"Shhhh!" The librarian shushed her, with a fork-like tongue coming out of her mouth, indicating that she's a snake faunus.

"But-" The girl tried to speak, but was silenced again.

"Shhhh!" The snake faunus hissed at her again, with a small glare.

"I didn't even-" The crimsonette almost yelled, but was given a death glare.

"Shhhh!" The woman shushed, narrowing her eyes dangerously.

 _"I give up."_ She thought, standing up and wordlessly leaving the 'interview'.

Job No. 3: Diner Waitress

"Here's the ground rules!" A bald old man behind his desk gave his paper to Ruby.

In response, she grabbed the paper and read its contents, before shooting her 'employer' a blank look.

"Well?" He grinned lecherously, his face twisting into one of perverse glee.

"Screw you." The silver-eyed girl said in an emotionless tone, standing up from her seat and leaving.

"Wait! Don't leave!" The perverted man begged, reaching out for the girl as she already left.

Job No. 4: Mechanic

"Do you even need to ask why?" A large buff man said, shaking his head.

"I understand your reasons for turning me down." The girl said, bowing politely.

He smiled sadly, saying "At least you're more polite than all of my employees combined."

"Hey!" The indignant shouts from his employees came from outside his office.

"Thank you." She stood up and proceeded to leave, thinking _"At least he was more considerate of me than the others, especially with his reasons to turn me down."_

Job No. 5: Cashier

"You're not getting any raises." A middle aged man said bluntly, lacing his hands together on his desk.

"Bye." The girl said blankly, leaving the office as she heard the man mutter "Darn it."

 _*TWO AND A HALF HOURS LATER*_

"Sasaki Cafe." Ruby muttered, nearing her last job interview, which was in a cafe.

It was a slight above average-sized building, with an aura of old-fashion and nostalgia radiating from it, especially with the interiors being said to have a homely and comforting feel with dozens of mixed tables and chairs throughout.

The girl turned to see that there was a lot of people inside the cafe and waiting outside of it, which made her come to the conclusion that the cafe itself was quite popular.

 _"I hope this last one is worth it."_ She thought hopefully, entering the cafe as she began making her way to the manager's office.

But as she went inside, what she heard of about the cafe's interiors were absolutely correct, as she looked around as the floors were made of wood, the tables and chairs were mixed in variety and size, and the walls had mural paintings and portraits that were beautiful in her eyes. Most importantly, she felt the overwhelming aura of home and comfort, which were valuable to her.

"Hello there!" The crimsonette turned to see a girl her age waving at her in a very friendly and polite manner "Welcome to Sasaki Cafe! My name is Azusa Sasaki!"

Azusa was a normal girl at fifteen years of age, as she has long dark brown hair that is tied into twin tails, honey yellow eyes and a fair complexion. The girl had a build that was between average and petite.

She was wearing a maid outfit, which consisted of a black dress with a white trim, a short skirt that reached her thighs, a ruffled white half-apron around her waist, a lacy white headpiece on her head, and dark gray high-heeled shoes with black thigh-high stockings with lacy white garters on each one.

"Are you here to see my uncle, the manager?" The twin-tailed girl asked, tilting her head sideways.

"Yes, I do." The silver-eyed girl nodded in response.

"Great! He's been waiting for you all day!" Azusa said cheerfully, turning around "Follow me!"

All Ruby could do was follow the other fifteen-year old girl, as they made their way to the manager's office.

* * *

 **Sasaki Cafe Manager's Office**

"Uncle Hiro! The new girl is here!" Azusa said brightly, entering the office with Ruby following her from behind.

"Excellent my dear!" A voice came from another room in the office "Would you please be a dear and make her feel comfortable while I freshen up!"

"Here, take a seat and have some hot chocolate." The twin-tailed girl said with a polite smile, guiding the crimsonette to a furry seat, which was quite comfortable once the latter had sat down on it.

 _"This place is quite comforting so far."_ She mused to herself, receiving a hot chocolate mug from the maid waitress and then drinks from it, to which her eyes widen in shock _"This hot chocolate is ... fantastic!"_

"Hello dear." The manager stepped out of the room as they smiled politely at the girl on her seat "Welcome to Sasaki Cafe, young lady."

At first, the silver-eyed girl thought the manager was a woman from their appearance alone, but then widens her eyes in surprise as the 'woman' is a man dressing up as one.

"I understand if you're taken back by my appearance, young lady." The crossdressing man chuckled good-naturedly, before introducing himself "My name is Hiroshi Sasaki, the manager and owner of this fine cafe."

Hiroshi was a man in his late thirties, as he has short dark brown hair underneath a hot pink wig that long enough to reach his waist, amber yellow eyes and a slightly fair complexion. He has a lanky and slender build, with obviously fake breasts and makeup on his face.

The man was wearing a light purple cardigan over a white long-sleeved blouse, a long purple skirt that reached over his knees, and light brown boots with white stockings.

"It is nice to meet you in person, Mister Sasaki." Ruby bowed politely, before taking another sip of hot chocolate from the mug.

Chuckling in response, he said "No need for formalities, you can call me Hiro young lady."

"Huh, are you sure?" The crimsonette asked, furrowing her brows as she finished the hot chocolate and gave the now-empty mug to Azusa "I don't want to come off as impolite and disrespectful."

"You don't need to worry about that," Hiro waved off her concerns "The employees here also call me Hiro, so there's absolutely nothing wrong with calling me that."

"Very well then." She still looked slightly concerned, but didn't say anything else as she placed an application paper on the manager's desk _"At least I took the time to have this printed so I can fill out the basic information about myself."_

"I see that you already have the basic information about yourself." The feminine man took the paper and read its contents, before chuckling to himself "Ruby Rose, what a fine name you have there, and fifteen years at that." he smiled warmly at her "You remind me of a friend I used to know, especially when I was your age."

"I see then." The girl said, tensing slightly _"Does that mean he knows-"_

"Now let's start the interview, shall we?" Hiroshi cut off her thought, as if he sensed her near discomfort "According to your resume, you are currently in a team at Beacon Academy, correct?"

"Yes, I am." She nodded, feeling some her tension ease "I am a member of Team MRKS, and I was invited into the academy by the headmaster himself." the last part was added to clear some possible confusion on her being accepted at the age of fifteen.

"Okay then." He nodded, smiling before saying the next question "Tell me a little about yourself, especially your time before Beacon?"

"Well, I lived in Patch with my older sister Yang and our father." The silver-eyed girl began, straightening herself "I used to attend Signal Academy, but it wasn't particularly enjoyable as I was at the top of my class every time."

Unbeknownst to her, the man narrowed his eyes slightly in concern at the tone she used, before asking "You sound disappointed, what's bothering you?"

Ruby looked up to him and saw his concerned expression, to which she sighed and said "My skills involve cooking, baking, building things, playing the piano, writing, reading, doing schoolwork, and my aura." she listed down the things she was extremely skilled at "I was basically superior to everyone else at the academy, but I didn't like that, especially with how I was treated back then." her best friend then came to mind _"Which makes me all the more grateful towards Luke for being my only true friend at the time."_

"Oh, you're good at baking?" Hiro decided to ask a different question, but still kept the girl's words in his mind.

"Well, I have baked white chocolate chip strawberry cookies, chocolate muffins, and even some vanilla cupcakes with milk chocolate frosting." The crimsonette responded, cupping her chin thoughtfully "Though I mostly worked as a server at my old school's community cafe."

"So you've worked in a cafe before? Interesting." The crossdressing man closed his eyes, before opening them as he said "Do you have any particular strengths or weaknesses?"

The silver-eyed girl looked at him quietly before responding "My strengths resides in my skills and my ability to learn at a quick pace, but my weaknesses ..." she trailed off as her expression turned slightly melancholic for a brief moment, before saying "They involve most of my childhood memories," the girl looked at the man interviewing her "Memories that I prefer not to speak about."

"Don't worry, I'm gonna pry." Hiroshi said, smiling warmly "After all, if you're not willing to talk about them, then it's perfectly fine with me, Ruby Rose."

"Thank you." Ruby said quietly, now looking at the floor.

"By the way, you're hired." The feminine man grinned, catching his now-new employee off guard with what he just told her.

"H-Huh!?" She stammered slightly, taken back by what she just heard.

"I officially welcome you to Sasaki Cafe, Ruby Rose." Her new boss said kindly, turning to his niece "Azusa, provide her with the cafe's maid outfit, please?"

"Yes, Uncle Hiro." Azusa said, bowing politely as she grinned in excitement "Come on Ruby! I'll introduce you to the others!"

The girl in question could only nod dumbly, standing up as she followed her fellow fifteen-year old girl, to which both of them leave the office, leaving the manager inside.

He had a solemn expression on his face, as he thought _"Summer, if you're watching us from above right now, then I'll make sure your daughter receives absolute kindness and respect from the people here."_ he then smiled as another one came to mind _"But then again, she might already be making friends with the right people at Beacon Academy."_ the man then looked concerned _"I can only hope that she would finally smile again."_

* * *

 **Kitchen**

"Are you sure about this?" Ruby asked, looking at herself as she was now wearing the maid outfit that Azusa had provided, which was nearly the same as the one the other girl was wearing, but the white parts were instead red and it showed parts of her cleavage as her chest was slightly larger than the other girl's.

"Yup yup!" The twin-tailed girl chirped, still smiling "Now let's go! I'll introduce you to Masaru, Takara, Kirino and Arthur!"

As they began moving, they find two boys working speedily around the kitchen, which meant that they had to fill in multiple orders.

"Hey! Pick up the pace!" A brown-haired boy, who was older than both girls, shouted as he prepared the plates.

"I'm on it! I'm on it!" A black-haired boy, the same age as the other boy, shouted back as he carried hot pans.

"Arthur! Masaru!" The manager's niece waved, getting the boys' attention "We have a new member here!"

"We're in the middle of serving, Azusa!" Arthur, the brown-haired boy, yelled as he began plating a dish.

"Takara! Kirino! Take them to the customers!" Masaru, the black-haired boy, called out as he also began plating "Now!"

"Boys, just leave it to us." A voice said, with two girls entering the kitchen, to which one with brown hair says "Kirino, take those plates while I take these."

"Okay." Kirino, a girl with pink hair, nodded as she carried some of the plates, while the other girl, presumably Takara, takes the others, to which both of them walk out of the kitchen.

With lunch break finally coming, the two boys turned their attention to the silver-eyed girl, who rubbed her arm in response to the stares she received.

"Hey, don't be shy." The black-haired boy said, smiling politely "What's your name?"

"Ruby Rose." She responded, looking away slightly.

"Cool, my name's Masaru Ito." The older boy introduced himself "Nice to meet you."

Masaru, like Azusa, was also normal, as he has short and messy black hair, dark brown eyes and a slightly tanned complexion. He was quite tall for his age, as his height over six feet, along with having a slightly built physique.

The boy was wearing a standard chef's uniform, along with wearing black pants and brown shoes, with a white apron tied around his waist.

"Hold on, are you a student of Beacon Academy?" The brown-haired boy questioned, his visible eye staring at the girl intently "By any chance?"

"Yes I am," She nodded in response "A first-year student and a member of Team MRKS."

"Good, because I'm also a student in that school, not to mention your upperclassman." The boy smirked, surprising his underclassman slightly "Name's Arthur Jones, third-year student, and a certified member of Team CAKE (Cake)."

Arthur was a third-year student of Beacon Academy, as he has chin-length brown hair with bangs that cover his left eye and bear ears on top of his head, dark green eyes and a fair complexion. The boy was slightly shorter than the other, and has a lean build.

Like his fellow chef, he was also wearing the standard uniform, with grey pants and black leather shoes, along with also having a white apron tied around his waist.

"I must say, why did you ask me if I'm a student attending Beacon Academy." Ruby asked, her brows furrowing as she did "Furthermore, why would you ask that kind of question out of the blue like that?"

"That's because one of my friends told me about it last week." Arthur answered, shrugging nonchalantly "Since you were busy doing your studies, I only knew what you by what you looked like through Rentaro."

"I see then." She cupped her chin thoughtfully _"Admittedly, I do tend to ignore everything around me when I study."_

As if on cue, Takara and Kirino came back into the kitchen, with the latter sighing in exasperation.

"So, who's the new girl?" The brown-haired girl asked, looking at the two boys.

"Ruby Rose, a first-year student at Beacon Academy." The bear faunus answered immediately, smirking slightly at his underclassman "She's also a new waitress."

"That's great! We do need some extra hands these days." The girl proceeded to introduce herself to her new fellow maid "My name's Takara Aisaka, nice to meet you."

Takara seemed like a year older than her new fellow maid, as she has long and straight brown hair that reached her waist with bangs that frame her forehead, light purple eyes and a fair complexion. She has a completely average build, as she was also normal like Azusa and Masaru.

She was also wearing a maid outfit, but the white parts were instead lavender and that she doesn't have a lacy headpiece on her head.

"Kirino?" Ruby said, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Hello Miss Rose." Kirino bowed in response, smiling at _his_ underclassman.

He was also wearing a maid outfit, but the white parts were instead light pink and that he doesn't wear garters like the other maids.

"You know him?" The twin-tailed girl asked, looking between the two Beacon students.

In response, the crimsonette looked at every employee around her as she said "Are you all already aware of his true-"

"Yup!" The black-haired boy nodded, looking at the pink-haired maid "He told us about it ever since he started working here on his first year at Beacon."

"Everyone! Customers are piling in just now!" Hiro's voice could be heard outside the kitchen, to which every employee, except the silver-eyed girl, went back to working.

"Come on! You should start working now!" Takara smiled, grabbing the girl's arm as she began pulling her out of the kitchen.

"O-Okay then!" Ruby nodded, following after the older girl.

"Yeah! Let's do this!" Azusa pumped up her first cheerfully.

Kirino merely nodded in agreement, smiling in amusement.

"Alright bro, looks like our break is gonna have to wait." Arthur said, shaking his head as Masaru simply smiled in response.

* * *

 **Waiting Area**

"Welcome to Sasaki Cafe!" All four maids greeted the customers "Enjoy your time here!"

 _"Looks like I need to fake my cheerfulness in greeting and serving the customers."_ Ruby thought, putting on a cheerful smile for the sake of satisfying the customers before her.

"Ruby! Approach those three customers pronto!" Takara's voice could be heard nearby as she pointed her finger towards some customers, to which she decided to greet the customers she was pointing to.

As soon as she saw the trio customers themselves, the crimsonette nearly tripped on her own two feet in shock upon seeing them.

"Ruby-chan? Is that you, nya?" Yuuki Sakurako, one of her upperclassmen, was standing in front of her, with curious expression plastered in her face.

She was still wearing the outfit she wore when she first greeted Shizuka and Riley at Mountain Glenn.

"Of course it's her, duh." Natalie Lane, another upperclassmen, snorted, lightly nudging the shorter girl.

The girl was wearing a black sleeveless muscle shirt, gray jeans, and black boots.

"Ara? Ruby-chan, what are doing here in that cute maid outfit?" Onyx Kearney, the last of the group, smirked, with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Like Yuuki, he was also wearing the same outfit he wore back at Mountain Glenn, but minus the belt.

"I joined this cafe so I can earn some money." The younger girl explained, her head hanging low.

"Eh? Does that mean you and Kirino-chan are now work buddies, nya?" The blonde faunus asked, tilting her head curiously.

"Can I guide you three to your tables?" Ruby asked, forcing a cheerful smile as she decided to change the topic before it would get her nowhere.

In response, the three upperclassmen decided to let their underclassman guide them to their table, to which it was near the walls.

Afterwards, she took out a white notepad, so she can take their orders.

"What will be your orders, please?" The girl asked, ready to write down whatever they were going to have.

"I'll get a chocolate and strawberry parfait, nya!" The feline faunus chirped, smiling brightly.

"Curry and spaghetti, lots of it." The short-haired girl said, dramatically doing a 'shoo' motion.

"Since it's you instead of Kiri," The fox faunus still had his smirk "My order is a slice of vanilla cake, if you please." he did a small mock bow upon saying the last part.

The crimsonette discreetly rolled her eyes at the gesture, before complying as she made her way to the kitchen.

Unbeknownst to her, Kirino himself sees this and sighed, before thinking _"I hope she would learn to deal with their antics eventually, since they are regulars here."_

"Did I ever tell you how much your partner annoys me?" Takara asked the boy, with an irritated expression.

He chuckled sheepishly in response "I apologize, that's just how he usually is."

"Ruby! I'm too occupied taking an order from these customers!" The twin-tailed girl called out, furiously writing down an order from a particularly large table "Can you take this one for me!" she stopped writing briefly to point at another table.

"Okay!" The silver-eyed girl's voice was heard as she made her way to the table Azusa was pointing at.

As soon as she reached the table itself, she felt a dark and eerie aura radiating from the customer sitting at the table, which was a young man with ram horns.

"A new waitress?" The man raised an eyebrow, lacing his hands together before letting out a snort "I suppose this place needed some extra assistance."

"Welcome to Sasaki Cafe! Can I take your order?" Ruby had to fake being cheerful, as she prepared to write down an order.

"I would like some hot coffee, with some bagels." He answered simply, before eyeing the girl "What is your name, girl?"

The said girl was taken back slightly upon the customer asking for her name, before deciding to humor him "My name is Ruby Rose."

"What academy are you currently in?" The man questioned, crossing his arms.

 _"I can't tell if he's being serious nor not."_ She thought, looking at the man as he had an unreadable expression.

Sighing, the girl decided to answer his question "I am currently a first-year student at Beacon Academy, and a member of Team MRKS."

"Interesting, then my name is Norio Hoshino." The man decided to introduce himself, before smirking as he added "I am an alumni of Beacon Academy, and a former member of Team YKNE."

With those words, the girl widens her eyes in shock as she began to process the man's words, while thinking _"He's a graduate from Beacon Academy!?"_

As she processed the information itself, she decided to get a glimpse of the man's entire appearance.

Norio Hoshino was a graduate from Beacon Academy, as he has black shoulder-length hair that's slicked back, crimson red eyes that seemed to stare straight through the girl's soul and a very pale complexion. He has a lean build, with an impressive height that seemed surpass Ryoma and Cayden's, along with having dark purple ram horns on the sides of his head.

He was wearing a black trench coat over a black suit and tie, with a purple dress shirt underneath, pants of the same color, and black boots. The man didn't seem to have anything else on him, other than wearing black gloves.

"I believe it is impolite to stare, girl." Norio smirked, getting a small squeak from the crimsonette.

"I-I'll get your order right away!" Ruby decided to keep her distance from him, especially with the fact that he is the source of the dark and eerie aura she felt earlier, all while thinking _"If he's truly the source of the aura I just felt, I must maintain some distance from him."_

 _"This girl has a rather interesting aura."_ The ram faunus' smirk faded away, as a more thoughtful expression took over.

After a couple of minutes, she returns with the man's order, to which she decided to quickly leave afterwards.

"Here you go sir, enjoy!" The girl bowed politely, as she began to leave the man's table.

"Thank you, girl." Her customer nodded, as he proceeded to drink his coffee.

 _"Okay, now I can truly avoid him for the rest of the day."_ She thought to herself, trying to shake off the dark aura she's currently feeling.

 _"The headmaster has certainly made an interesting choice of allowing her to attend his school at fifteen years of age."_ The black-haired man thought, looking at the girl walking away with an unreadable expression.

With the alumni now served, the crimsonette proceeded to serve more customers wih more coming in, all while getting a better understanding of her new job even more.

To say that she now had gotten the hang of her job was now an understatement.

"Here you go ma'am, enjoy!" The silver-eyed girl had just served an order to a female customer, before being called by Takara.

"Ruby!" The older girl called out "Those two customers want a refill for their coffee."

"Be right there!" She responded, as she was already carrying a full pitcher of coffee on her right hand, to which she made her way to the two customers and refilled their coffee "I apologize for the small delay, enjoy your refill!"

"Nah, that's fine." One of the two customers waved their hand dismissively "Thanks, little lady."

"Ruby! I need some help in carrying these orders to that table please!" Azusa called out, carrying two trays of food, while trying to point at two more trays of them at a nearby empty table.

"Coming!" The red maid quickly made her way to the twin-tailed girl, and carried the extra two trays "Let's go!"

Things were going well for her, until ...

"Excuse me!" A man's voice could be heard from the entrance "Can I get some service around here!"

Luckily, Kirino responds to the man's call, but as soon as he made his way to him, his eyes widen in shock.

The man before him has bright long orange hair with long bangs covering his right eye, slanted dark-green eyes with some black eyeliner seen on his visible left eye and a fair complexion. He seemed to possess a lean build, which made sense as he was an adult.

He was wearing a red-lined white suit, long black pants, and black shoes. He also wore a small gray scarf, black gloves with buckled sleeves, and a black bowler hat with a small feather tucked into its red band, which rested on his head.

Needless to say, the man before him was Roman Torchwick.

 _"What is this man doing here!?_ " He thought, now narrowing his eyes dangerously.

"Whoa! No need to give me the stink eye there, pinky." Roman held up his arms in a placating manner "I'm not here to rob this place."

As if on cue, a woman appears by his side, smiling brightly at the girl-looking boy.

"In fact, we're just here to get some grub." The orange-haired man said, smirking slightly "Then we'll leave you all alone." he turned to the woman "Isn't that right, Neo?"

Neo, the woman beside him, has two different hair colors as she has pink with white streaks on the right side and brown on the left side, her eyes also had two different colors as she her left eye was brown with the other being pale pink and has a slightly pale complexion. She has a very petite build, with some curves around her hips and waist, and is somewhat shorter than all of the girls inside the cafe.

She was wearing a whitetail jacket with a pink interior and one wide broad tail, a brown corset underneath that is curved in the middle and the bottom that exposes her hips, brown pants, and black and white boots with very high heels and multiple buttons on each side. The pint-sized woman also wears a multitude of necklaces that hang haphazardly around her neck and black gloves.

For some reason, she wasn't saying anything as she simply smiled at the pink-haired boy, not saying anything.

"Ruby." Amano called under his breath "Tend to this man, while I go inform Hiro about his presence."

The younger girl turns around and widens her own eyes in shock, while thinking _"Why is he here!?"_

"Ruby." She sees the older boy looking at her with a concerned expression, to which he whispers "Just be sure to keep him satisfied, while I go to the manager."

In response, she sighed and said "Fine, but please make it quick."

He nodded and quickly made his way to the manager's office, leaving Ruby to serve the infamous thief herself.

Looking around, she sees that Takara and Azusa are too hesitant in moving forward, with the customers looking at the pair of thieves in slight fear.

Sighing resignedly, the crimsonette moved to formally greet the two thieves herself.

"Hello there, I will be the one to serve you both." She bowed politely, before facing them "May I guide you two to your table?"

Neo nodded in response, lightly nudging Roman, who had an expression of shock and recognition.

 _"It's the brat from last time!?"_ He thought, changing from his shocked expression to narrowing his eyes slightly.

Unbeknownst to him, Kirino had now informed Hiroshi of the current situation, which involved both of them watching from meters away.

"Should I step forward to assist her?" The pink-haired boy asked, narrowing his eyes at the thief.

"No, stand down for now." The crossdressing man answered, sending a glare at the orange-haired criminal _"Stay away from her, you cretin."_

As they watched from the sidelines, the silver-eyed girl had already guided the two new customers to their table, to which she prepared a notepad.

"What will be your order, sir?" She said the last part with forced politeness.

"Anything that's sweet will be fine for me." The orange-haired man waved dismissively, before shifting his attention to his right-hand woman as he said "I know that she'd like some ice cream, if you please?" he said the last part with also forced politeness, still narrowing his eyes at the girl.

Before she would head to the kitchen, a familiar voice catches her off guard.

"Ruby?" The red maid turned around to see Yukino, who is looking at her with a raised eyebrow, much to her surprise.

 _"Yukino!?"_ She shouted in her head, turning to see that the white-haired girl was accompanied by the rest of Team MRKS and all the members of Team KLRE and SAVR.

"Whoa! Looking good there~!" Shun grinned teasingly.

Kiyoshi merely raised an eyebrow, not having anything to comment on his partner's outfit.

Fortunately, her team leader managed to read the atmosphere, as well as seeing Roman and Neo, and said "We will help ourselves to our table."

"Allow me!" Azusa instantly appeared beside her, and then said "Don't worry! I'll take care of your friends!"

"Thank you." Ruby muttered in embarrassment, looking away from her team.

"Hey! Are you gonna bring us our orders, or what!?" The criminal snapped irritably, getting the red maid's attention.

"I'll be right on it, kind sir." The girl said through her teeth, making her way to the kitchen immediately.

As soon as she was out of sight, the other members of Team MRKS collectively glared at the thief, with the same thought on their minds.

 _"Get away from her, scum/asshole."_ They all thought, having the urge to protect the silver-eyed girl.

"Uh, who is that?" Lily asked, noticing the glares from the three Team MRKS members.

"Roman Torchwick, a notorious criminal." Kiara answered simply, sending her own glare at the thief "That's all you need to know, little one."

"Indeed." Ezra had a concealed glare, while Ryoma outright growled at the criminal himself.

Meanwhile, Roman was in his seat, looking over the messages in his scroll, with an annoyed scowl in his features.

 _"That bitch, ordering me around like I'm some sort of slave."_ He thought, looking at messages.

After a couple of minutes, Ruby had returned with their orders, with a clearly forced cheerful expression on her face.

"Here you go you two, enjoy." She placed down the plates, and then made her way to her team immediately afterwards.

"Ruby, why are you dressed like that?" Miyazaki asked, breaking some of the tension.

"I needed a job, and this felt like the most suitable one for me." The crimsonette answered, sighing tiredly as she down sat with her team "At the very least, the one who runs this place, is willing to pay me for serving the people here."

"Were the other jobs not suitable for you?" Nakamura asked, looking over curiously.

"Let's just say," She looked away uneasily "The other jobs weren't really the most appropriate for me."

"Anyhow," Valerie coughed, deciding to join in the conversation "My name's Victor Stark, nice to meet you."

The hidden girl was wearing a dark blue vest over a light blue long-sleeved shirt, gray jeans, and red and white sneakers.

"Shizuka Aoki, it's nice to meet you." Shizuka introduced herself timidly "We didn't really interact last time, so I hope we get along fine."

She was still wearing the same outfit she wore back at the initiation, but without the belt and gloves.

"I'm pretty sure you still remember my name." Ajax said confidently "You know, Ajax Silver?"

"She doesn't look like she remembers you." Riley spoke up bluntly, observing the crimsonette's blank silence.

He was wearing a cobalt blue hoodie over a light gray t-shirt, black jeans and light gray sneakers, while the wolf faunus simply replaces his black leather jacket for a regular light gray one and his boots with black sneakers.

"You're Riley White, right?" Ruby asked the gray-haired boy.

"Yes, I am." He nodded in response, to which the black-haired boy could only gape at this.

"At any rate, have all of you ordered what you want in this cafe." The silver-eyed girl questioned, standing up from her seat.

"Yup, I ordered a shit load of curry!" Yukimura grinned, lacing his hands behind his head.

The reddish-haired boy was wearing a maroon jacket over a dark purple long-sleeved shirt, black jeans, and brown leather boots, along with yellow sunglasses resting on top of his head.

"Then I suppose I shall talk with all of you later." The red maid said, preparing to go back to work.

"You look cute in that maid outfit." Kiyoshi's out-of-nowhere comment immediately caused her blush in embarrassment, to which she faced him briefly.

"T-Thank you." She managed to say, before heading back to work.

As she left her classmates at their table, Roman and Neo finished their given meals as they began to leave themselves.

"Thanks for the grub, little lady." He muttered, deliberately bumping his shoulder onto Ruby's, causing her to stagger slightly _"I'll get you for this somehow."_

However, that came to bite him back, as Kirino walks by and 'accidentally' spills coffee onto his suit.

"Oops!" The pink-haired boy said, covering his mouth "We're sorry about that." the boy didn't look like he was sorry when he said that, leading to a few of the customers laughing nearby, even the thief's right-hand woman.

"Tch, cheeky brat." The orange-haired man hissed, making his way out of the cafe, with the pint-sized woman following him from behind.

The crimsonette sent a silent 'thank you' to her upperclassman, to which he returned the gesture by nodding and smiling softly at her.

* * *

 **Sasaki Cafe (8: 30 PM)**

"You did very well on your first time here, young lady." Hiro said, smiling proudly.

"Thank you, Mister-" Ruby, now in her casual clothes, cut herself off as she shook her head "I mean, Hiro."

He chuckled, looking at the girl fondly before saying "You can come by to work here anytime, I won't force you to."

"I'll come when classes end." The crimsonette said, bowing politely "I promise you that."

"Be sure to keep that promise then." The feminine man chuckled softly "Though I wouldn't mind if you come late."

After a few more exchanges, the group of first-year students, Kirino and Arthur proceeded to make their way back to Beacon Academy.

"So you're a third-year student?" Shun asked, looking over the older boy.

"Yup, I'm a part of Team CAKE." The bear faunus said casually.

"I can't believe that they let me keep this maid outfit." The silver-eyed girl muttered to herself, looking at the ground.

Kiyoshi said nothing as he shook his head in amusement, along with Yukino.

Unbeknownst to all of them, Norio was watching them from afar with a calculating expression.

 _"Ozpin, what exactly do you have planned for these children."_ He thought to himself in slight worry.

* * *

 **Old Warehouse**

"Kids these days, ungrateful little brats." Roman muttered angrily to himself.

Neo could only hum in amusement, following her boss from behind.

"You're late, Roman." A smooth voice could be heard from the shadows.

"Ugh, what do you want now?" The orange-haired thief narrowed his eyes at who spoke.

"I believe we have a small problem." A young woman steps out of the shadows "A problem that you have to fix."

 **To be continued ...**

 **I'm sorry if I took long to update, school has still been a major pain in the ass lately. I hope I got Roman's character right, since he's from canon, along with Neo. The next chapter will pick up where the last scene has left off in the beginning, before the main focus will involve the students taking their midterm exams.**

 **Introduced OCs: Azusa, Hiroshi, Masaru, Arthur, Takara and Norio**

 **Next Chapter: Midterm Exams**


	25. C17: Midterm Exams

_**This chapter will be nothing special, but it will involve some school antics between the first-years, as well as them taking their midterm exams. Some characters will return in this chapter, with some new ones introduced.**_

 _ **NOTE: There will be some OOCness from some of the canon characters, because there are some that are somewhat difficult to write more than the others.**_

 _ **Onto the story~!**_

 **Old Warehouse**

"You're late, Roman." A smooth voice could be heard from the shadows.

"Ugh, what do you want now?" The orange-haired thief narrowed his eyes at who spoke.

"I believe we have a small problem." A young woman steps out of the shadows "A problem that you have to fix."

The young woman herself seemed younger than the orange-haired man before her, as she has ashen-black hair, bright amber eyes that seemed to glow and a fair complexion. She has a somewhat lean, but attractive build with slightly toned legs, with her fingernails painted red.

She was wearing a dark-red off-the-shoulders v-neck mini dress with yellow designs, a blue feather-like accessory on her right hip at the top of an open portion of her dress, that ends in an upside-down triangular tail in the back, ending just above the knees. There is a baseball diamond-shaped keyhole on the dress' upper back at the same height as her chest, the sleeves end in a triangle shape, which are wrapped or tied around her middle finger, with the gold designs of the sleeve taking over at the wrists. She seemed to wear black shorts underneath her dress, as well as a black choker on her neck. She also wears a gold loop earring with a black gem dangling from it on her right ear, and dark glass high-heeled shoes and a jeweled anklet on her right leg. On her upper back, which is the keyhole of her dress, she has a black tattoo of what appears to be a pair of high heel shoes placed sole to sole, forming a heart shape inside.

Her name was Cinder Fall.

"Problem?" Roman narrowed his eyes and said "What the hell are you talking about, woman."

"You see, the problem is that ..." Cinder trailed off, narrowing her eyes dangerously "There is not enough dust for my plans, and I believe that you are the only person that's capable of fixing this problem." she raised her right hand, as flames were made as they covered the hand itself entirely.

"Pfft, where'd you get that stain from?" A new voice said in a rather condescending manner, as a silver-haired boy stepped out from the shadows.

"Hmph, I bet he pissed off some guy from the alleyways." Another voice said, as a green-haired girl also stepped out from the shadows.

The boy, who seemed to be at the age of seventeen, has silvery gray hair that's partially slicked back while unkempt at the front, eyes that are the same color as his hair and a slightly fair complexion. He has a well-built and lean build, more particularly on his legs.

He wears a slate gray and black two-tone partial-zip jacket that covers his upper body, black pants and dark gray shoes that seem to be attached to his pants. He also wears a single notched belt with what appears to be a sash or bandanna draped over it, and there are sets of rerebraces and vambraces on his arms.

His name was Mercury Black.

The girl, who seemed to be the same age as the boy, has mint-green hair with a straight fringe and bangs that frame her forehead, dark red eyes and a dark complexion. She has a well-developed build, with some curvy hips and is somewhat busty.

She wears a thin intricate white top over a shallow-cut olive-colored crop top, white pants and brown chaps that end at her calves, and an overlong belt, that is twice-wrapped, where she keeps her weapons as well as a single pouch.

Her name was Emerald Sustrai.

"I don't think it's a good idea to make Uncle Roman mad." Another new voice said, as a little girl suddenly stood behind Cinder.

The little girl's appearance consisted of long and unruly white hair that reaches her waist with wolf ears on top of her head, dark purple eyes and a pale complexion. She has a very petite build, which was fitting as she is ten years of age.

She is wearing a white puffy jacket over a black dress, and brown leather boots.

Her name was Chouko Azuma.

Roman scoffed at the two teens' words and said "Unlike you two, that little girl shows respect for grownups like myself."

"Ahem." The black-haired woman managed to grab the orange-haired thief's attention "Anyway, I ask that you fix our little dilemma, otherwise ..." her amber eyes glowed for emphasis.

"Tch, fine." The thief relented, as he and Neo went further into the warehouse, while turning to Chouko and saying "Watch out for that woman, kid." his expression softened slightly "You're the only normal person around here, so watch your back."

The little wolf faunus turned to the criminal's direction and asked "Why?"

"Don't listen to him, child." Cinder said softly, crouching down to the child's height "I have big plans for you, understand."

All the child could do was nod silently in response.

* * *

 **Beacon Academy (The Next Day)**

It was another day at Beacon Academy, as the students were now preparing for their midterm exams, which will happen two days from now.

From inside the teacher's lounge, Kyosuke was currently looking through his students' test results from the last quiz, as he graded each one with a serious and calculating expression.

"How's grading these kids' tests, Kyo?" Flint asked, sitting lazily on the couch.

"A lot of the students can decently study at best." He answered simply, eyes never leaving the test papers "But Miss Rose and Schnee have been at the top of their peers with every quiz so far." he then cupped his chin thoughtfully, thinking _"The upcoming midterm exams can be a bit of challenge for the ones that don't really study."_

"Well, I'll be happy to tell you that Rose and I have been having a great time discussing weapons." The silver-haired young man slowly stood up from the couch "Hell, I even told her that she'd need another weapon, like a scythe."

"Doesn't she already have enough weapons?" The brown-haired man briefly turned his attention away from the test papers to look at his former classmate "I personally believe that she would need to focus more on her aura and semblances, rather than her weapons."

"Eh, more weapons equals more fun." He stopped for a second, before scratching the back of his head "At least, to me that is."

Sighing in response, the first-year homeroom teacher went back to grading his students' test papers.

 _"I wonder if the kids are studying at this moment?"_ He questioned in his mind.

* * *

 **Library**

 **Teams SAVR and JNPR**

"Ugh! I thought I didn't have to deal with exams!" Ajax whined, his face close to hitting the table "I thought Beacon was better than that!"

"I know, right!" Nora whined along with him, her face already on the table "Why can't we just break some legs! That would be a better exam than what we're doing what now!"

"Will you two keep quiet?" Riley lightly scolded, giving the two a stern expression "We are inside a library."

"He is correct." Pyrrha nodded in agreement "I believe that this is a nice change from the training put upon us by our upperclassmen."

"Ugh, don't remind me of that ... hell!" Jaune groaned, slouching against the table "I can barely move after all those explosions."

"U-Um, can we just study now?" Shizuka asked timidly, looking up from a textbook briefly "People can hear us talking loudly."

Ren and Valerie can only watch as they opted not to join in the conversation, all while studying for the exams.

"Do you honestly put up with her that much?" The short-haired girl asked, looking at the boy next to her.

"Yes, we've known each other since we were children." The black-haired boy answered, sighing "I've already gotten used to her antics, long before coming here in Beacon."

"I see then." She muttered, going back to her reading.

 **Teams MRKS and KLRE**

"This is gonna suck." Shun said plainly, slouching on the table.

"I'm with ya there, bro." Ryoma agreed, also slouching on the table "This fuckin' exam is gonna be a bitch."

"I must admit, this is almost nothing like what Klein taught me as a child." Ezra smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"I suggest that the three of you should stop complaining and read." Kiyoshi said bluntly, his eyes never leaving his book.

Kiara shakes her head at the boys, before turning to Lily and saying "Lily, do you think you can help me make sense of this problem?"

"O-Oh, if that's what you want, then sure." The rabbit faunus smiled timidly, as she proceeded to help her leader.

 _"This is nothing like what I knew, before I came here to this school."_ Yukino thought, narrowing her eyes to get a better sense of what she was studying.

Ruby merely stayed quiet and tried to block out the complaints from a lot of her classmates, as they griped about having to study. However, ...

"Dammit! This doesn't make any sense!?"

"Hey! Can you help me out with this one?"

"Shit, this is a pain in the ass."

"Um, what is this problem called?"

"This is ... FUCK!"

... they were beginning to complain loudly, much to her annoyance, as they came from Sky, Marty, Cardin, Magnar and Russel respectively.

 _"That does it!"_ She thought in annoyance, abruptly standing up, as her right eye twitched.

Before anyone would notice her, she uses her speed to go to each student having problems with their studying, quickly helping them as much as she can.

"Follow the steps accordingly and you should be able to figure the rest out for yourself." She said quickly to the spiky-haired boy, before making her way to the bull faunus "That problem is very simple, you just have to find the right components."

She made her way to each classmate, as she helped them with their problems in studying, much to the amusement of some of the people watching her nearby.

"Looks like even her patience has its limits." Yukino commented, smirking in amusement.

"Noted." Kiyoshi nodded, scrutinizing his partner.

"Damn, look at her go." Shun said in awe.

"S-Should we stop her?" Lily asked her team leader.

"Nah, it is quite an amusing sight." Kiara shook her head in an amused manner.

After twenty minutes of helping her classmates, she stopped to catch her breath, only to notice Makoto and Doreen looking at her with varying degrees of amusement in their expressions.

The red-haired boy was wearing his uniform completely, but replaces his eyeglasses with contact lenses, with the shadow user wearing the uniform without the blazer, as she tied it around her waist, along with additionally wearing fingerless gloves.

"Hello Rose-san, you seem to be working hard today." He commented, smiling politely at his underclassman.

"Pfft, working hard, she's practically babysitting her classmates." She snorted, smirking in amusement.

Before the crimsonette would respond, a voice called out to her.

"Miss Ruby Rose!" It came from Marty, as the girl promptly turned around.

However, she had found Sky, Russel, Dove, Cardin, Marty, Ajax, Jaune, Magnar, Shun, Ryoma, and even Rika bowing down before her.

"What the?" She muttered quietly to herself.

"Please offer us your guidance, Ruby-sensei!" They all said at once.

"J-Jaune! What are you doing!?" Pyrrha asked her leader, looking somewhat incredulous, as well as a little jealous.

"Wow, you're willing to bow down to someone that quickly." Riley snarked, looking at his fellow male teammate.

"This is getting a bit too weird for my tastes." Blake commented, raising an eyebrow at her partner.

Weiss merely shook her head, as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Do you want me to get rid of them, or what?" Doreen smiled, activating her semblance slowly.

"No, I will deal with them myself." Ruby sighed, resigned to help her classmates for the rest of the day."

* * *

 **Cafeteria (The Next Day)**

"I need some coffee." Ruby groaned, rubbing at one of her eyes tiredly.

As if on cue, Kiyoshi uses his semblance to create a mug of hot chocolate and a small plate of cookies, before showing them to her.

"This would be a better substitute." He said gently, looking at her with slight concern.

"Eh, I'll take it." She shrugged, taking the mug and the plate, but before she would take a sip, she blushed slightly as she meekly whispered "Thank you."

"I suppose this will be the last time you will tutor your classmates, correct?" Yukino asked, taking a bite from a sandwich.

"Yes, I gave them enough material to work with so they can study on their own." The crimsonette replied, taking a small sip from the hot chocolate, before sighing in slight bliss at its taste.

"Where's Shun and Ryoma?" Lily questioned, noticing that the two boys where nowhere to be seen.

"They're in detention for sleeping in Professor Oobleck's class, along with all of the other students that Miss Rose happened to teach." Miyazaki explained, before adding "As well as for calling him 'Professor' multiple times."

"It's Doctor Oobleck!" The aforementioned teacher shouted from out of nowhere.

Ezra looked around and hopefully said "Well, I'm sure they won't let that deter them from studying for the exams."

"We'll see about that." Kiara closed her eyes, and took a small sip from her drink.

* * *

 **Classroom 1 (The Next Day)**

 **Ruby**

It was the day of the midterm exams, and needless to say ...

"I'm disappointed in a lot of you." Professor Hayashi shook his head, reading the exam papers.

... the ones I tutored, pretty much failed to even get a single passing score.

"Miss Schnee, would you please write the results on the board." He turned to Weiss, to which she stood up and took the examination papers, before proceeding to write down the results of the midterm exams.

 **MIDTERM EXAM RESULTS:**

 **1st. Ruby Rose - 100/100**

 **1st. Weiss Schnee - 100/100**

 **3rd. Lily Scarlatina - 98/100**

 **4th. Rika Kurosawa - 97/100**

 **5th. Kiyoshi Nakamura - 96/100**

 **5th. Pyrrha Nikos - 96/100**

 **7th. Blake Belladonna - 95/100**

 **8th. Valerie Stark - 92/100**

 **8th. Riley White - 92/100**

 **10th. Kiara Belladonna - 90/100**

 **11th. Ezra Williams - 89/100**

 **12th. Cayden Walsh - 87/100**

 **12th. Lie Ren - 87/100**

 **14th. Yukino Miyazaki - 82/100**

 **15th. Shizuka Aoki - 79/100**

 **16th. Sky Lark - 42/100**

 **16th. Jaune Arc - 42/100**

 **18th. Dove Bronzewing - 41/100**

 **19th. Russel Thrush - 40/100**

 **20th. Ryoma Yukimura - 38/100**

 **21st. Ajax Silver - 35/100**

 **21st. Shun Fujimori - 35/100**

 **23rd. Magnar Pederson - 32/100**

 **24th. Nora Valkyrie - 21/100**

 **25th. Marty Asher - 18/100**

 **26th. Cardin Winchester - 2/100**

As I looked at each result, I remembered how Cardin arrogantly turned down my help, believing that he didn't need to study and that studying is a big waste of time. I'm not surprised that he has a very low score because of that arrogance.

Though I am surprised to see Rika having a very high result, considering that she had the mannerisms of an airhead, but I assume that there is more to her than meets the eye perhaps.

With that out of the way, I looked around to see some of the low scorers' reactions.

"Nooooo!" Marty shouted, clutching his head.

"Dammit!" Ryoma growled, coming close to punching his desk, with Lily trying her best to calm him down.

"Hehehe, at least I don't have the lowest score." Nora laughing, seemingly unfazed by her low result.

"Cheer up Jaune, you'll do better in the next exam." Pyrrha tried and failed to reassure a sulking Jaune Arc.

"It ain't so bad." Cardin forced an arrogant grin, despite tears clearly falling out of his eyes.

"Um, why are-" Russel tried to ask, only to be silenced.

"I said it ain't so bad!" He scowled, as he gritted his teeth and flushed in embarrassment.

"Okay class, I have some announcements to make." Professor Hayashi spoke up, getting our attention.

I could only look around as we all waited for what he was going to say.

 **To be continued ...**

 **Okay, I'm ending this chapter here. I'm sorry that this chapter is very lackluster, compared to the others. High school has been a pain in the ass, and I had to sort out some issues, regarding my school project. I hope you understand that.**

 **The next chapter will focus entirely on Ruby as she meets a person that will help her change for the better.**

 **Next Chapter: Zwei and A New Brother**


End file.
